


Iron Gray

by MsKtK



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-04-18 03:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 39,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14203833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsKtK/pseuds/MsKtK
Summary: This is the series of events that lead up to Gajeel joining Fairy Tail, including him having to face the guilt he harbors for a certain script mage. Meanwhile she has to deal with her fear towards the dragon slayer in return, but are these really the only feelings these two have towards each other? Follows the beginning plot of Fairy Tail from Gajeel and Levy POV in third person, from after the Tower of Heaven arc and on.





	1. Black Steel Gajeel

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT INFO: First off, my knowledge on most of Fairy Tail is based on the English dubbed anime. Although I have recently picked up the manga and seen some of the Japanese version-  
> My characters may differ slightly for that reason.
> 
> Setting - This takes place right after the tower of Heaven incident.
> 
> Characters: Natsu, Lucy and the gang are still at the resort, if you remember they stayed for a few more days longer than Juvia did, so unfortunately, they won't show up for a while.
> 
> This is a Gajeel x Levy story mostly, but other Fairy Tail characters will be included as needed and because I love them all.
> 
> And lastly this story was started in December of 2013. Since then, my writing style has changed somewhat, but this is one of my older works and I wanted to give it a chance on here.

**Iron Gray Chapter 1 Black Steel Gajeel**

 

             It was a cool summer night in Magnolia. The town was relatively quiet considering the hour was still young. Most of the citizens had turned in for the evening in preparation for the next day ahead, after being exhausted from the working shift.  However, in the darker parts of town, there was still a little more life to be seen roaming the streets and alleyways. This mostly consisted of the bar goers’, considering it was still midway through the week.

It was basically just these regulars who were shuffling in and out of the taverns. The streets were empty with the exception of this group of people, most of which were drunk as they scooted from one ally bar to the next. However, outside one corner tavern there was a large man sitting on the cement ground with his knees up, his forearms resting on them and his back propped up against the outside wall of the tavern.

He had on a tan cloak with a hood that concealed most of his upper body. His tan arms were sticking out from it. One was littered with large scars, but each had studded piercings running down the both of them. He sported leather, fingerless gloves with bolted metal cuffs. The lining of his boots matched that of the gloves; large and black, with the hems of his baggy white pants tucked into them. His face was hidden, because he kept his head down. Long strands of black-feathered hair were jutting out from the hood, along with the point of his nose, which shined with studs going down either side of its bridge. In one of his hands was a small flask.

It was clear to any sober person, from the position he sat and the aura he gave off, that this man did not want to be bothered. It was just too bad that the unfortunate soul, who stumbled out of the bar he sat outside of, wasa just too drunk to pick up on this.

The drunk had almost fallen over after a brief wrestling match with the door. He managed to catch himself and regain his balance before he just stood there, aloof in his hazy state, taking in his surroundings. Of course, he then noticed the cloaked man and began to stumble towards him lazily.

The man in the cloak paid him no mind as he took another swig from his flask, allowing the liquid to burn a path down his throat and into his stomach, warming him from the inside. The drunk finally paused just before the man who sat on the ground, looking down on him with a dopey smile.

“Hey…!” He bellowed out loudly, but he realized, or maybe he didn’t, that he was being ignored. “Eyyyyy… You… down there…!” He said now sounding slightly annoyed as he dragged out all of the words. The man on the ground still did not acknowledge the drunk. The drunk getting severely agitated now began to shout, “Eyy… I need some change… Fer the bus!” The cloaked man finally looked up at the drunk, revealing two fierce crimson eyes with black slit like pupils, resembling that of a dragon’s. His face was lined with more studded piercings, his expression was not friendly, but the drunk didn’t seem to care.

“I ain’t got any.” A gruff voice growled. “Ya better keep walkin’ if ya know what’s good fer you.” He spoke again looking away from the drunk now. The drunk stared for a moment, perplexed as if struggling really hard to think. Then a big smile suddenly spread across his face, as if he were pleased with himself for finally figuring it out.

“Hey I know you!” He exclaimed excitedly. “Black Steel Gajeel.” He let out a hiccup. “You’re a wizarrrd.” He slurred out. “Ya definitely have money.” He uttered as he kicked the bolt of Gajeel’s boot. “C’mon dragon slayer… jus’ share a liddle…”

The slight tap on his boot was just the excuse Gajeel was looking for as he clenched his teeth and stood up without any hesitation, his fists at his sides. He had gotten to his feet so fast, that his hood fell away revealing his spiky black mane that was slicked back.

“If you truly knew me… Then you’d know to stay away…” He stated darkly between clenched teeth as he turned to face the drunken man slowly. His eyes almost seemed to glow evilly; his features were drenched in shadow. The man was beginning to realize that he may have made a mistake.

His face was paling as he took in the size of Gajeel, standing before him. He was starting to remember something about the iron dragon slayer attacking people… That’s right, it had been all over the newspapers… The Phantom Lord guild versus the Fairy Tail guild and Black Steel Gajeel’s role in it; too bad he hadn’t thought about it sooner.

Gajeel’s hand was becoming steeled scales; his fingers were reaching out and grabbing the man by the front collar of his shirt. His steel nails poking holes as he grasped the fabric tightly.

“Wait! Wait!” The drunk began to bellow, sobering up enough to realize how bad this was. His face was visibly terrified now and that only seemed to encourage Gajeel as he smirked at the man revealing his fangs. He let out his unique laugh at the man’s expense clearly enjoying every second of the drunk’s fear.

Gajeel found a certain pleasure in terrifying people and especially now. He hadn’t had this satisfaction in a while, since Phantom Lord was no longer in existence. No more guild, meant no more members to intimidate, as well as no more jobs of beating up bandits and thugs for information. Not only that, but he missed the fighting. His last taste of it had been during the battle with Fairy Tail and what a fight that had been…

Gajeel had never faced an opponent like Salamander, who had actually beaten him. Internally he kind of wanted to fight him again, just so that he could get a chance to test his limits against the fellow dragon slayer. It had made him feel alive actually… In a way he hadn’t in ages.

 

The memories were starting to fuel Gajeel as he lifted the smaller man up by the collar enough so that his feet were off the ground.

Yes… the fight with Salamander had been exciting for him, but in the end, he had lost and not only the fight, but also the whole war… and Fairy Tail? They had walked away, not only victorious, but as a prize, Phantom Lord was extinguished and that wasn’t even what angered him the most.

 

The man was crying now as Gajeel held him in the air looking up at him with an angry crossed brow. He was no longer smirking, as the memories continued to flood his brain. He threw the man’s back against the wall of the tavern; holding him there and pushing on him, making it hard for the drunk to breathe. He was so lost in anger and the memories that he didn’t even notice the man wet himself.

_It was that damn defiance_. Gajeel’s thoughts spoke as the images continued to invade his mind like a movie. The first memory was of Salamander, refusing to stay down even when Gajeel clearly had the upper hand. The way the flame dragon slayer had stood up, after his strength had returned and looked down on him, reminded Gajeel of a demon. The next image was of the blond chick, the one that they had started the whole war over; that Heartfelia girl... The determined look on her face, as she spited Gajeel with her words even after he had kicked, what should have been, all of the fight, out of her, had him shaking with rage. Next, was an image of the carrot top with the shades; he had tried to save the blonde as Gajeel had made his escape with her. Gajeel also remembered the peculiar marshmallow man, who had used some kind of odd picture magic. That man had also tried to defend Miss Heartfelia from his Phantom Lord guild mates, but he had been way outnumbered.

 

Then lastly, one other memory floated in Gajeel’s mind. One of the first three he had targeted that had been the catalyst, finally spurring Fairy Tail to fight back. Gajeel could still hear her voice; from the night he had strung her up. In all that time, he hadn’t realized she was even conscious.

“They will stop you…”

It was all she could manage to say, but something about the arrogance of this beaten girl, had irked him enough to make sure she wouldn’t say anything else for a while. That was when he had left Phantom’s symbol on her; his way of branding her as punishment for her words. That last act of defiance assured her publicly bearing the mark of humiliation. Gajeel remembered looking at the three of them, one last time after he was finished with his ‘little message’ to Fairy Tail, before shaking his head grimly and leaving to tell Jose what he had done.

None of them had been scared of him, even when he had punished them, beaten them down and taken their dignity. Not one of them had even tried to run away; their faces never giving way to the terror he was so used to inflicting on people. He couldn’t understand it.

Most everyone in Phantom Lord feared Gajeel, with the exception of the Element Four, whom he respected as strong wizards and Master Jose. But those damn… Fairies. Every one of them, even down to the smallest, had stood up to him; never truly letting him have the satisfaction of their true fear. They cried, bled, screamed and talked smack, but he couldn’t seem to catch that frightened look in their eyes, even when he thought he had defeated them.

 

After their guildhall had been destroyed, it was like there was no putting out that fire… A flash of the Salamander’s angry flames erupted in his mind’s eye.

In fact,… It was their spirit that had intimidated _him_. Gajeel was remembering how he had fallen to Salamander’s hands once again… How come they hadn’t been scared? The question still haunted him to this day. How is it he had lost?

 

He pictured the celestial wizard once again and the determined face she had given him, she hadn’t even been able to stand. Gajeel had tried so hard to make her as afraid of him as everyone else was, without causing her serious damage. Hell, his guild mates had been shaking just watching his onslaught of attacks on the girl, but she just wouldn’t cave and it had made him crazy inside.

He went a little too far and if Salamander hadn’t stepped in when he did, even Gajeel wasn’t sure what he would have done to miss Lucy Heartfelia that day. She had, had the balls to say she felt sorry for him, which for some reason bothered him, and he had responded by getting more riled up. She had given him the go ahead, to just kill her, because she knew Fairy Tail would come after him for her death.

 

It was hard to believe her. That any guild would go so far, as to actually do that, but at that point Gajeel was so fed up with her resistance, that he had just embraced her words with laughter.

Now Gajeel knew better, the words she had spoken to him that day, were indeed true and he couldn’t deny it even if he didn’t fully understand it.

He knew though, because when the dust had settled on Phantom’s Lord’s war with Fairy Tail, it was _he_ who had known fear that day, having been beaten and watching his master fall.

The Fairy Tail guild was just…Stronger. He didn’t know how or why they hadn’t been afraid, but he did know that despite the fact that he wanted to fight them again, they weren’t to be trifled with.

A bright golden light like the sun was shining through the heavens casting everything in a blinding glow. Gajeel opened his eyes, realizing he had closed them as he remembered the spell Makarov had casted that day. He had never seen anything like it before and it had brought Jose down, something he hadn’t thought was possible. The ultimate judgment spell, Fairy Law.

 

The man Gajeel held against the wall was staring at him with red bloodshot eyes, bulging out of fear. He was sobbing and muttering  ‘pleases’ and  ‘No’s’. Gajeel glared at him, finally out of his trance, having lost all his fight. What with all the memories returning and then disappearing just as fast. His grip on the man’s shirt was becoming slack.

“Gajeel?” A familiar serene voice spoke. Gajeel knew whom it belonged too, but he also realized that it couldn’t be her, because there wasn’t a single drop of rain. “Maybe you should put that guy down.” She said, her tone sounded light, almost like she would laugh.

Laughing? Juvia laughing…? The two didn’t seemed to go hand in hand. She had a very pessimistic personality for as long as he had known her, but when Gajeel turned his head to look, he couldn’t deny that it was indeed her, even though she looked different.

For starters she had cut her hair and was wearing a much different kind of attire than he was used to seeing on her. And her face; she looked… happier?

He was so surprised by her, that he slowly let the drunken man slide to the ground without looking. The man took that opportunity to run off, shouting ‘thank you’s’ to the sky.

“Rain woman? Without the Rain...?” Gajeel choked out.

Gajeel didn’t really have friends, but Juvia, along with the other members of the element four had probably been about the closest thing. And although he wouldn’t admit it, he preferred Juvia’s company compared to the others. He respected her strength as a wizard and the rain had never seemed to bother him, which she had always appreciated in return. She probably was the closest thing to a friend he had, considering he had conversed enough with her to know, that what stood before him wasn’t the same Juvia he had known.

 Juvia’s serene blue eyes took in the iron dragon slayer’s appearance. He seemed thinner and his eyes were haggard and bloodshot. He wasn’t drunk, but it was clear that he had been drinking. She also noticed the bags under his eyes and his whole face seemed sunken in. He didn’t quite look as she remembered him, despite her worry though, she found herself smiling, because in truth, she had missed him. Not a lot of people liked Gajeel Redfox, but Juvia considered him her friend simply, because he had always accepted her. Being the rain woman had made it hard to gain that with people.

“Gajeel!” She exclaimed happily. “I’m glad I found you! I had heard you might be around here.” Gajeel turned fully to her now, raising a studded brow. He was already surprised by her sudden appearance and the obvious dramatic changes that he hardly heard what she had said. He paused for a moment, so he could back up and rewind his thoughts.

“You were lookin’ fer me?” was all he could seemed to choke out, the statement sending him into mere confusion. Juvia smiled brightly closing her eyes happily, it was so… unusual for her, at least from Gajeel’s perspective.

“Yea, can we talk? I’ll buy you a drink!” She exclaimed her voice light as a feather. He again had to stare at her for a moment, before he answered just to get his bearings. His brain was tangled up with so many questions, but the longer he looked at her, taking in her new ‘better off’ appearance, the more he felt himself calming. Like a sense of relief washed over him, was he maybe happy to see her too and was he glad to see she was doing well?

He closed his eyes and shook his head and when he opened them, a smile showing his fangs graced his lips. He folded his toned arms over his broad chest and for some reason he couldn’t seem to stop the grin.

“Why the hell not?” He answered amused and Juvia just laughed lightly. She really had missed her friend and was glad to see that despite the fact that he was obviously struggling, he was at least in one piece.


	2. The Rain Woman

**Iron Gray Chapter 2 The Rain Woman**

 

The two of them had decided to walk to one of the friendlier bars in Magnolia. Gajeel took his seat at a corner table while, Juvia went to the bar and came back to him holding two drinks. Gajeel’s clearly being the one with the metal bolt in it. He silently took it from her hand and she took her seat across from him.

She noticed immediately how content he looked to have the drink. _Maybe a little too much,_ she thought as she watched him pensively.

Gajeel didn’t take notice as he began to down his drink rather fast, but finally he felt her eyes on him. He glanced over with the corner of his eye, as he continued to down the drink and then finally he slammed the large jug down and let out a breath rather animatedly.

Juvia was boring into him now with her cerulean eyes and all Gajeel could think was, _now that is a look I’m used to seeing on her face_ … _Not all those odd bright smiles from earlier..._ From past experience, he also knew that, when she wore that look, there would be no way for him to tell what she was thinking and that had always kind of bothered him. She never had as much trouble reading him, as he did her. Figuring out people had never really been Gajeel’s specialty, considering he didn’t really get close with anyone.

“What is it?” He growled annoyed, as he sat there with his red eyes glaring at her and his arms folded. Juvia was sitting up straight, with her hands clasped in her lap; her drink had been abandoned on the table leaving the condensation from the ice in it, to run down the glass. She was completely unfazed by his attitude, she was used to it.

“Are you doing okay?” She asked her tone sounding even and more serious than it had earlier and her gaze on him didn’t falter. Gajeel’s glare eased up a little, as she had surprised him once again with asking about his well-being. He fidgeted a little under her steady gaze. He knew if he lied Juvia would know, she was just good like that.

“What’s it matter to ya?” Again, her expression didn’t change.

“Gajeel, I’m worried about you.”

He wasn’t sure what to say at first, why would she worry about him? He could take care of himself. Hadn’t he been doing that most of his life after all? Sure, he was no longer in a guild anymore, but it wasn’t as if he hadn’t dealt with that before. He had, for many years after Metalicana had abandoned him and he had only been a kid back then.

No, Gajeel hadn’t needed anyone back then and so he certainly didn’t need anyone now. Besides, he couldn’t understand why she cared enough to worry about him anyways.

Then again… He himself had kind of felt like, maybe he had been worried about her too, as he remembered feeling relief upon seeing her.

Whatever… He didn’t really like thinking about all this stuff! He plastered on a smirk for the calm rain woman and let out a laugh.

“Worried eh? Trust me sister I can take care of myself. Hell! I can eat metal I don’t even really need food.” The words had just flowed out of his mouth, without him really thinking about it.

“So, you haven’t been eating much then?” She suddenly questioned, taking in his much thinner appearance once again. Gajeel was slowly realizing what he had just said may have only made things worse, but again, he knew he couldn’t really lie to her.

“What did I jus’ say? I’m fine, I can eat scrap metal.”

“You must not have a lot of money.” She stated flatly, his smirk disappeared at that and he clenched his jaw stubbornly, staying quiet. “You haven’t been able to get any work.” Was all she said next, her tone never changing, not questioning, but stating a fact. Gajeel was getting pissed off mostly, because what she said was true and they both knew it.

“Well of course not!” He replied his voice getting a bit louder out of aggravation. He looked away from her now and down at the table, his brow crossed and his jaw still clenched. Juvia continued to speak calmly, nothing he did seemed to upset her.

“Why haven’t you joined a guild?” Was her next question. He looked up at her with wide disbelieving eyes, as if it was obvious.

“Are you kiddin’ me? Don’t you get it? Nobody wants me in their guild!” He answered clearly getting upset. Juvia didn’t budge.

“Why wouldn’t they? You’re a dragon slayer after all?” Gajeel looked down again, calming down a little. He almost looked a bit forlorn, which wasn’t like him. His voice was heavy and dripping with darkness.

“It doesn’t matter, after what I did… To them I’m jus more trouble than I’m worth. Other than Master Jose, my name was at the top of the list of wizards, to blame fer the fight with Fairy Tail. Don’t ya see…? it doesn’t matter that the charges were dropped, my name as a wizard is already tarnished. I can’t get inta any guild.” Juvia finally let her gaze fall off of him, as she felt a sadness wash over her and he continued, “I guess this is what I get fer startin’ a war with those Fairies.” She could tell now that he, like her, did regret his actions even if he’d never truly admit it out loud and it wasn’t, because he felt sorry for himself. No, he felt he deserved it.

“Why did we do it?” The words left her mouth, before she could stop them. Gajeel looked up at her, but she was no longer looking at him and now she looked sad.

“Look you didn’t do anythin’ wrong, you didn’t hurt anyone... Ya just followed yer orders. You’re not like me… So there ain’t no use in gettin’ teary eyed over it now. As fer me… I made my own choices. Most of them were Jose’e orders, but hell I even did some things on my own accord.” She looked up at him and met his gaze. He had a determined look on his face, one she wasn’t used to seeing, but it was strangely dark too and it caused a pit to form in her stomach. Was he… Punishing himself?

“I let myself be a puppet, just as you did.” She replied, trying to make her voice sound, as determined as his face looked. Gajeel looked away from her not knowing what to say this time. “But I can amend for my mistakes now, just as you can.” He looked back up at her, not understanding. “That’s why I came here looking for you Gajeel.”

“I don’t understand.” Was all he could say, she looked at him seriously.

“I see what you’re doing to yourself, but doing that won’t make anything better for anyone. When I lost my fight with Gray Fullbuster during the battle of Fairy Tail, I thought I was done. I was falling, to what surely would have been my death… And as I was, I felt like maybe it was for the best… But then something happened. He came after me… He saved my life… I couldn’t understand it, after what I had done to him during our fight and everything our guild, had done to their guild... Then something more amazing happened, the rain stopped and I saw the sun for the very first time in my life...” Gajeel watched her with a shocked expression over his face. He was once again speechless and so she continued. “It was as if I was being given a second chance. Rather than wallowing in my remorse I stood up and I looked to my beloved Gray and the other Fairy Tail wizards, because it felt like they had paved a path for me. I observed them… They were so different from Phantom Lord, in a good way. I wanted to join them…” Gajeel couldn’t believe what he was hearing at this point. He got to his feet and pointed at her in disbelief.

“YOU wanted to be a Fairy?!” He shouted in utter disbelief, his jaw going slack.

“Not only did I want to.” She stood up, before him and hiked up her skirt just enough to show him the blue Fairy Tail insignia on her upper thigh.  “I already am one.” She felt herself smiling warmly, as she said it. Like she just couldn’t help the happiness that overtook her upon saying the words. She let her skirt fall back down and Gajeel just stared at her without moving, almost as if he was a statue.

For what felt like the hundredth time that night, Juvia had left him speechless. He finally blinked and felt himself kind of just fall back into his chair, but his head was looking up at the ceiling almost dazed. He finally stuttered some words out as she stood watching him, still with the same smile.

“I just… How… The hell….” Was all he could seem to get out, as he let out a heavy breath.

“Part of me doesn’t know really… I did help them with an incident... The tower of Heaven.” She replied looking down, her eyes looking soft and saddened now. Gajeel practically jumped agai,n at hearing that.

“Tower of Heaven?! Ya mean that whole thing with the corrupted council and the etherion blast?! You were involved in that?!” At this point Juvia might as well of sprouted wings and flew away… It was like every word she was saying, was just crazier than the next.

“Well in a way, I guess… I was there at least. I witnessed the etherion blast hit the tower and the lacrima’s magic energy shoot to the sky.”

“Juvia…!” He broke in, “Yer not makin any sense!?”

“It was because of Fairy Tail!” She exclaimed. “They were involved and I went along with them in order to help, since I was there.”

“Can’t those damn Fairy’s stay outta trouble?” Gajeel grunted folding his arms. “I swear it’s like they gotta be involved in everythin’.” Juvia looked to him and she felt her warm smile return, but her eyes still looked a bit saddened.

“Yes… They are truly amazing.” Gajeel looked up at her and for some reason he smiled a little bit too.

“And yer really one of ‘em now huh?” She glanced up at him, still smiling and nodded. Suddenly he felt like, for once, he could actually read her for a change. He could see how truly happy she was, even if initially, she felt like she hadn’t deserved it, but Gajeel knew better. He may have not been the best at understanding people, but he knew the rain woman well enough to know, that she was a genuine, good person. He had never seen her so happy and he couldn’t help but be glad for her as well. How could a simple guild have brought out such a change in her? Let alone Fairy Tail…

“Gajeel… Come with me.” She stated and his smile disappeared and was replaced with a cold look, almost instantaneously.

“Look, if joinin Fairy Tail is what works fer ya, than… Be my guest, but you know better than that.” He couldn’t look at her again and it irked him, because he wasn’t sure why.

“You’re right I do. Look at me Gajeel…” But he wouldn’t. “You don’t need to let the darkness consume you. If I’ ve learned anything from this guild, it is to keep moving forward. If you come with me… You will see.” Gajeel began to shake his head, he felt himself getting angry and he still couldn’t look at her. He may not have known why, but Juvia did… It was his shame getting in the way. “I will speak to Master Makarov on your behalf and-”

“NO!” Gajeel jumped up and slammed an iron fist down on the table, breaking it as the entirety of his anger burst forth, from out of nowhere. Juvia had jumped back slightly, but she wasn’t afraid of him, as everyone else in the bar seemed to be.

They were all staring at the pair now, and the bar was completely silent. Juvia felt like tears might form in her eyes, but she kept them down… She wanted to help him so badly. that her heart ached, but he didn’t seem like he was going to let her.

Gajeel’s mind was racing, the rain woman made no sense! There was no way in hell he could join Fairy Tail, the whole idea was just nuts! They would never let him join, after what he had done…

 _Wait_ … Let him…? Did he want to join them? His eyes widened a bit. No that can’t be it! He was getting so frustrated, but it didn’t matter anyways. No guild would have him and he didn’t need one! A voice sounded, interrupting Gajeel from his scattered thoughts.

“I’m calling the authorities! You’re going to be paying for that!” It was the bartender. Gajeel’s arm finally went back to normal as he realized what he had done, and he wasn’t sure what to do. He had no money and attacking would only make things worse, so maybe it was just time to bail.

“No need. I’ll take care of it.” Juvia’s confident voice spoke. Gajeel’s eyes widened and for some reason, he felt a pain in his chest, that he couldn’t explain. He looked over at her as she stared at the bartender, from across from the bar. She would do that… For him?

She didn’t notice the shocked expression he gave her, as she gracefully walked up to the bar to give the bartender money for the damages, without a second thought.

Gajeel fell once again, back into his chair, feeling drained and again not knowing why he felt that way. He sat there as the people around him slowly began to go back to their business and he could hear Juvia, promising the bartender that they would be leaving right away. He heard the bartender give her a gruff response, basically telling her good. He heard her footsteps coming closer and he just stared at the ground until her shoes came into view as she stood before him.

Gajeel looked up at her, with no words and a strange expression Juvia had never seen… He looked lost. She smiled down at him, as warmly as she could, despite how sad she actually felt for him inside. She wanted to comfort him somehow, but it was Gajeel. He would never allow it, so instead,

“You ready to go Black Steel?”

A small smile creeped over Gajeel’s lips, it wasn’t his usual smirk, but close. It differed slightly as his eyes seemed to reflect a strange sadness, if only for a second and then he stood up. Now he was the one, looking down at her.

“C’mon rain woman.” His smile grew revealing his fangs. “Let’s get the hell outta this place.”


	3. Levy McGarden

**Iron Gray Chapter 3 Levy McGarden**

 

Gajeel and Juvia had decided to take a short walk out in the cool night before parting ways. Nothing else super significant came up. Instead, Juvia seemed to go on a spree about the Fairy Tail ice mage, she had battled against while still in Phantom. She appeared to be _obsessed_ with him now. Gajeel only half listened, he found it kind of annoying, but part of him wondered if she was only doing it to lighten the mood.

Before they parted, she reached up and rested a hand on his shoulder, while she held her umbrella with the other. She met his eyes with a small smile on her lips, one he was more familiar with seeing. He stood back, his mouth slightly open waiting for her to speak, but then a raindrop hit his nose. He looked to the sky while Juvia’s hand still rested on his shoulder.

Gray contrasting clouds brightened the once clear, dark purple and blue star littered sky and the rain began to fall. He looked back to her now and he knew that it was, because of her, that the rain had come, as he caught her eye.

“Please take care of yourself.” She said calmly and he matched her smile with his own tiny one. Without another word, she turned away from him and began to walk her path, leaving the rain with him. He watched her retreating form, her staying dry due to her umbrella, but him slowly becoming soaked as he stood there. Finally, he turned away and looked back to the sky.

Gajeel had never minded the rain; it brought back old memories of his childhood with Metalicana. He looked down at the puddles forming on the ground, as the rain poured down on him and he ran a hand through his slick hair, causing water to slide off of it. _Why do I gotta be thinkin’ bout that now?_ He thought to himself.

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his now soaked pants and began to wander aimlessly, as he had nowhere to go. He had lost his apartment, because he had no longer been able to pay rent. Any money he had, had saved up, was lost to fines from the council after the battle with Fairy Tail. What was left he had spent mostly on alcohol and it hadn’t been much anyways. The council had drained him and now that he couldn’t find work, he was basically screwed when it came to money, but he kind of just shrugged it off.

There wasn’t anything he could do about it at the immediate moment and so he didn’t want to waste time dwelling on it. Instead he figured he’d just find somewhere to sit and rest for the night, as he continued to wander down the streets in the rain that night.

* * *

The sun was just barely above the horizon the next morning when Levy McGarden awoke from her bed. She shot up quickly, her light blue hair all disheveled and, in her face, as she let out a small yawn and stretched her stick like arms high above her head. She glanced out the window lazily, a few golden rays of sun poked through and her eyes brightened, suddenly more awake with a smile.

Remembering today, was the day one of the books she had been waiting for was being released, finally made her practically leap out of bed, to get ready for the day. She knew if she hurried, she could be done and out the door before Jet and Droy showed up looking for her and then she could have the whole day to just read! Not that she minded her fellow teammates, but once in a while it was nice to just have some alone time with her books.

Her room kind of looked like a library threw up in it. Her floor was covered in piles of books, parchments and quills thrown all over, some open and some stacked, some discarded. Trying to get ready had kind of become a game for Levy, as she quickly would leap from one patch of floor to the next, laughing at herself as she did so, trying not to step on anything. She realized she needed to go through her mini library and organize things once again soon, _but not today!_   She thought as she finally reached her tiny bathroom.

She showered quickly and towel dried her azure hair, then stopped to look at herself in the mirror. She grabbed one of the bandannas she had hanging on a rack next to her sink and proceeded to tie her hair up in its usual way, to keep her messy bangs out of her face. Once she had fixed her hair she stopped and paused to gaze at her reflection. She slowly ran a hand over her temple, _looks like there won’t be any scars._ Her thoughts rang and for whatever reason, this caused her to smile at herself in the mirror, she couldn’t seem to help her excitement. She shook her head and left the mirror to finish her routine and before she knew it, she was bounding down the stairs of the Fairyhills dorm, before any of the other girls had woken up.

Levy was about to run out the door, when it opened as she approached and she was sure to put on the breaks. She didn’t want to run into the person, but she wondered to herself who it could possibly be, this early.

It was Juvia Loxar who had come in, Fairy Tail’s brand-new member and one of the former Element Four, from Phantom Lord. Juvia was holding a small box in her arms of what looked like… Well… Some kind of odd white cloth dolls? Levy wasn’t sure why, but she smiled at the taller blue haired mage regardless.

“Juvia! I almost ran right into you! Are you moving into Fairyhills?” Juvia looked down at Levy, surprised by not only her friendly demeanor, but she wasn’t sure who she was either and so she smiled nervously.

“I’m sorry, have I met you already?” Levy’s eyes widened and she suddenly felt like an idiot, _I gotta stop doing that to new members_ … She inwardly sighed at herself and laughed awkwardly with an apologetic smile at Juvia.

“Oh no!” She exclaimed, embarrassment evident in her voice, as she scratched her head. “I’m sorry! I was there when Master Makarov introduced you, but we haven’t properly met.” Her smile changed back to a bright one, “I’m Levy McGarden, member of Team Shadow Gear.” She said proudly.

 

Shadow Gear… That sounded familiar to Juvia. _Wait… Was she the one Gajeel…?_ Juvia cut off her own thought, as she smiled warmly at the shorter wizard.

“Nice to meet you! I’m so happy to have joined Fairy Tail and to answer your question, yes! I am going to be moving in here.”

“Oh that’s great!” Levy exclaimed excitedly, not missing a beat and truly looking happy to meet a new mage. “Ya know, I read some things about you actually. You’re a pretty talented wizard.” Juvia felt herself blush and the worst part was, she hadn’t heard anything about Levy. Well except maybe something not so great involving a certain iron dragon slayer… She wasn’t sure if it was the same girl… Either way, she couldn’t return the kind compliment and the smaller mage was so friendly that she wished she could.

“Well nothing embarrassing hopefully. I really hope all be of use to Fairy Tail.” She replied modestly, looking away from Levy as the words left her mouth. Levy noticed the water mage take on a slight sadness and she could see that it was guilt, that had gathered in her eyes and Levy wanted to ease it. She reached out her small hand and rested it on Juvia’s forearm, as she was still holding the box. Juvia looked to the small hand and then to Levy’s face, her gold eyes reflected an earnest understanding. It was a kindness Juvia hadn’t been expecting.

“I know you will be. We’re lucky to have you.” She stated sincerely and Juvia couldn’t help but smile warmly back as the small gesture had moved her eyes to become a bit glossy. Levy’s smile broadened and she took her hand back and put them on her hips. “And just so ya know, if you ever need a good book to read, I’m your girl! I’ve got more then I know what to do with! I’m actually on my way out right now, but once you are all settled in, don’t be afraid to come visit my room!” Juvia just nodded, words weren’t really coming to her at the moment, as she still felt a bit emotional. “Great!” Levy cheered and she went to the door out. “Well I’ll see you at the guild Juvia! Bye!” And she waved. Juvia waved back and then the small girl disappeared out the door, leaving Juvia to stare at it in bewilderment.

She felt a reminiscing feeling building in her stomach. She had felt it before, after the fight with Gray, when she saw the sun for the first time and also again, after her and Lucy had done the unison raid against one of the members of Trinity Raven… It warmed her up inside and she felt so… Happy… To the point where she could cry… _So this is what it is to be a Fairy Tail wizard?_ Juvia thought, _it’s the greatest feeling in the world_. 

* * *

 

Levy walked at a steady upbeat pace, as she made her trip away from Fairyhills and into Magnolia, but it wasn’t long before she realized she should probably slow down, at least a little. The sky was now a tinted blue purple, with a little bit of pink as the sun ascended into the heavens. It was really quite a beautiful morning, so Levy forced herself to slow down a little to enjoy it. The streets seemed a little damp, but there was no sign of humidity in the air. If anything, the morning felt a little cool and crisp for her taste _._

 _I guess it rained last night_ , she thought to herself, realizing she hadn’t heard any of it, because of how good she slept. She had just been so excited about that book! She had gone to bed early, rather than staying up late into the morning hours, reading as she normally would. But that was also why she needed to pace her walk, rather than full out sprint there, as she wanted too. The store wouldn’t be open until seven and she had been so excited, that she had gotten ready a little _too_ fast. Even with the small run in with Juvia, she had still managed to leave the dorm earlier than she should have.

She let her thoughts float back to the water mage and how she had looked, before she left. It was plainly obvious Juvia still felt guilty about her time in Phantom Lord. Levy shook her head as she walked; Makarov obviously trusted her though, maybe because he had heard from Erza, about how Juvia had helped their team during the Tower of Heaven incident. Juvia seemed harmless enough to her, even if she had been part of Phantom. She could tell that she had meant what she said about doing right by Fairy Tail and she was looking forward to when Lucy would return, to hear more about what had actually happened.

No, if anything Levy was just glad to have another member and a potential new friend. Juvia would soon see for herself, that Fairy Tail wouldn’t hold the past against her. Sure, the group was a bit overbearing for new members, what with the constant brawls and just overall craziness. Levy herself stayed out of most of that, because she wasn’t one for confrontation, but her guild was also accepting and loyal. They were a family and she was very proud to be one of them.

She smiled to herself as she thought about the guild, lost in her own little world, wandering along the sidewalk with hands cupped behind her back. At that point, she had basically stopped paying attention to her surroundings, just walking the path to the store without any thought of it, because she had done it so many times. 

She didn’t notice as she rounded the corner at first, so lost in thought and staring at the ground in front of her, until something odd came into the corner of her eye. She looked up, seeing what looked like a boot, hanging out onto the sidewalk from an alleyway up ahead. Levy’s eyes widened as she realized that it wasn’t just a boot, but there was part of a leg too, it was a person!

She felt her heart stop for a moment, realizing the person must have been lying on the ground. Worrying that someone could be seriously hurt, she began to sprint towards it. As she neared the alleyway, she let herself slide into view of it.

“Are you okay?!” Levy questioned hastily, jumping fourth with hands out, but what she saw, just threw her into a more severe state of panic. She felt a terrible sickening feeling, wash over her whole being, as all the color in her face began to drain out. She was frozen in place, in pure terrified shock as she stared at the person she had found in the alleyway. She really couldn’t bring herself to move, with the exception of the sudden severe trembling, that had taken over her small body. _What…? No…. It can’t be him…_

Her thoughts echoed in clear denial, she wanted to believe that if she closed her eyes and reopened them, that the image she saw before her would be gone. That none of it had been real, but deep down in her sinking heart, she knew that it was.

She could never forget that face, nor any other feature about that man… Not after what he had done to her and her team.

It was Black Steel Gajeel the iron dragon slayer, who lay in the alleyway and even though he didn’t look the same as he had that day, there was no denying that, that was indeed who it was. Luckily for Levy, he appeared to be asleep and as she stared at him, every fiber of her being was screaming to run, as fast as she could, far away from him, but she just couldn’t.

Her feet were just planted and all she could do was take in his appearance, with wide doe like eyes, mouth open and heart pounding.

The large man was lying flat on his back, arms and legs sprawled out, his heavily pierced face was facing the sky. The more she looked at him the more she realized he looked a lot less scary than she remembered, or maybe it had just been, because of all the nightmares she had, had about him… Maybe they had made him out to be much more ferocious, than he actually was? Or was it that, he didn’t seem to be… doing well?

He was skinnier; she knew this, because she did indeed, remember clear as day, what he looked like on the night he had attacked her. He had been much thicker, but of course, his large towering height hadn’t changed at all, as she saw how much room his sprawled-out body took up, in the small alleyway. The other obvious difference was his clothing. He was wearing a tan tattered vest, leaving his less broad, but still toned chest, exposed, as it huffed up and down with his breathing. She watched him for a moment, trying to gather her bearings, her eyes automatically moving to his right shoulder.

The Phantom Lord mark was gone and for some reason she felt herself let out a shaky hollow breathe of her own, at seeing it no longer on his dark skin. She felt a tad calmer now, but she still couldn’t seem to move, but she realized that he, Gajeel, the man who had hurt her and then haunted her dreams was… Truly defeated.

He looked like a bum as he lay there, she even began to notice how sunken in his face looked, making his cheekbones more prominent. The clothing, the fact that he was sleeping there, the more she took it all in, the more she felt her courage returning.

Some monster he was? He was nothing to her now… He had no guild and probably no money as well… He had nothing… There wasn’t any reason for Levy to fear a man like that, not anymore…

Her eyes hardened and she finally felt her limbs move, as she stood up straight, staring hard at him. She felt her small hands ball up, her nails digging into her palms slightly, as a wave of anger overtook her, all directed at the sleeping man.

 _He deserves this!_ Her thoughts screamed out, but for some reason the anger she felt towards him, did nothing to ease her. She felt… Kind of empty all of the sudden… And she wasn’t sure why…

Her tense angry body eased up and her amber eyes drifted to the man’s face. His eyes were shut peacefully; his face looked calm and relaxed, nothing like she had seen on that day. It was almost as if, he was another person with the way he looked right then and it made her wish he was… She never imagined she would see him as anything other than a monster, but now… She didn’t know what to view him as, but she knew she wasn’t scared of him at that moment, while he was sleeping.

Her brow furrowed, as she stared at him and she closed her eyes. Memories of that night were flooding back to her. She wanted to be angry! She was forcing them back, something she didn’t normally do… It had been too painful, but after seeing what Gajeel had been reduced too, she felt her anger fading… She didn’t want that… She wanted to stay angry and to hate him, but instead all she could seem to feel towards him now, was pity.  

She felt frustration consuming her and it made her ache. Why? Why should she feel sorry for him? She shook her head angrily. _Stupid… What is wrong with me?!_ _If anything, he got off easy!_ But Levy knew, it just wasn’t in her nature… She didn’t like to fight or spite people… She felt herself let out a long drawn out, breathe.

Well, if she couldn’t bring herself to be angry anymore, than she could at least forget about him entirely. She could walk away from Gajeel now and he would no longer have any kind of power over her. He would no longer haunt her dreams and he would just be _gone_.

Levy opened her eyes and gave the iron dragon slayer one last look over, taking in everything about him. _I hope I never have to see you again..._ She thought, but for some reason she felt a pit in her stomach form. A determined look graced her features and she suddenly turned away from him and slowly began to walk away. Now... She was unsure if she even wanted to go to the bookstore… All of the excitement she had just felt… Was gone.


	4. Master Makarov

**Iron Gray Chapter 4 Master Makarov**

 

There was an aching pain in Gajeel’s head and he could feel light shining on his closed eyelids, trying to seep through them. It was annoying… He slowly opened his eyes, remembering he was in an alleyway, as the tops of buildings and clotheslines came into view. He could only see a small patch of bluing sky and of course, the ray of sunlight that had come through that small patch, landing right over his face. He could hear some slight footsteps and smell a familiar scent, which caused him to shoot up. Last night his clothes had gotten so wet, that he had changed into some beat up clothes he had, found, so he could sleep more comfortably… What little sleep he was able to get, at least.

His head was hurting from the lack of it, but he was more concerned with the person he could hear right by the alleyway. He jumped to his feet, teeth clenching and he slowly stepped out of the alleyway. He glanced over to the right and saw a petite body, a girl with her back to him, as she slowly walked away.

She was only a few feet away and she hadn’t heard him at all. She had blue untamed hair, tied up with a ribbon or bandanna. Her skin was a smooth ivory, but the thing he recognized the most about her was _… She is so damn small_.

It was her, just as he knew it was, from the scent… The girl he had beaten and strung up, from Fairy Tail. He couldn’t possibly forget her even if he had wanted too, which he didn’t. He wanted to remember her for some reason, maybe as a reminder to himself of what he had done, another way of punishing himself. As she stood before him, unaware that he was watching her, he couldn’t believe how tiny she actually was, as if he had forgotten that about her. He felt it… Guilt seeping into him.

It had been really easy to hurt her, not that her teammates hadn’t tried to stop him, but he had, had the advantage of surprise. Once he had gotten a hold of her, they hadn’t been much. He had gone for her first, thinking she’d be the easiest out of three once he had chosen them, to be his targets. Not only that, but something about her had really pissed him off.

After he had all, but destroyed their guild, he kept watch on the different members of Fairy Tail, to see how they would react, as ordered. He wanted to be sure that they were upset and furious enough to attack Phantom back, it was part of the plan after all. They needed to be angry enough to strike Phantom back and although the members were definitely heartbroken, they didn’t retaliate.

It hadn’t been enough and Gajeel knew he needed to do something else… He needed to strike harder… It was going to take a much bolder move to make Makarov act and that’s when he had made up his mind on how he was going too. He just needed to figure out who it was going to be.

He had been watching members of the rival guild all day and he had noticed a certain three that seem to hang together, two guys and a girl. What bothered him about these particular three was their attitude. While most members of the guild seemed completely forlorn and angry about what he had done to their guild, these three, especially the girl, seemed to have their spirits up, despite the damage. It had bothered him for some reason… He wanted them all to be broken and so he had decided to follow those three that night.

It had been almost on a whim when he had decided to attack them, but he was angry and it was only growing the more he witnessed them. She hadn’t acted defeated, or even worried and her two teammates, who were obviously enamored with her, were trying to do the same despite the fact that they seemed angry, at times.

Gajeel had listened to them chat as they walked together that night, away from their destroyed guild and he had heard them mention that they would be spending the night together, just in case… _That won’t save you_. Gajeel thought as he watched them, he had made up his mind. Positive now that they would be the ones to make Fairy Tail attack.

He waited for his opportunity, he knew if he went for the girl, then the other two wouldn’t be able to stop him. He waited until they seemed distracted enough, practically falling over themselves, over something she had said and then he sprang into action.

Gajeel shook his head out of the memories, not wanting to remember how he’d gotten her. How they had tried to fight without hitting her. How he’d beaten them up, how she had tried to fight back. Quite honestly, she had been the fiercest of the three, but at that point, he had already had the upper hand and physically overpowered her, before she could stop him.

Looking at her now, he really wished he had never seen her before. He wished she was some random girl he didn’t know, but he had even learned her name, since his act had become public knowledge. Levy McGarden, why did he have to see her now… Had she seen him? He sure as hell hoped she hadn’t for many reasons, but the more he stared at her the more he kind of wanted too…

He reached out a gloved hand suddenly, surprising himself with the action; his mouth had opened as well, as if he was going to speak. _What the hell?! Why would I…. What could I possibly say to her anyways!? What am I thinkin’ I must be losin’ my freakin’ mind!_ His thoughts screamed, not allowing any words to come out. Instead he just watched her walk away, thinking it would be for the best if he left that girl, the hell alone. Not understanding at all, why he had thought trying to talk to her, would ever be a good idea. And as she went, the distance getting further between them, all he could think was, _so small._

* * *

 

Juvia stood before Makarov’s door, arms stiffly at her sides and hands were balled into tense, shaking fist. She was nervous, but she knew she couldn’t back down. After seeing Gajeel last night, she knew that he was not only broke, but he was deliberately trying to send himself into hell. She couldn’t let him do that, even though he didn’t want her help. He was her friend and probably the only one she had from her former life; she couldn’t stand by and let him slowly deteriorate.

No, if he wouldn’t listen to her… Maybe someone else would make him come around? She knew it was a lot to ask of the old man and that was why she was so nervous. After what Gajeel had done to Fairy Tail, the idea of asking Makarov to help him, was actually ludicrous and if it had been any other guild she was in… She wouldn’t have even bothered. But this was Fairy Tail, the one guild that could seem to find hope, no matter what the circumstances. The positive thinking gave her the courage she needed and she brought her fist to pound lightly over the door.

“Come in.” She heard the old man’s voice call through the door. She swallowed and then put on a determined face. She wouldn’t turn her back on Gajeel… Even if it meant risking her place in Fairy Tail, by asking for such a favor.

She opened the door and stepped inside. Makorav sat at his desk looking over some paperwork, he was muttering to himself as he did so. Something along the lines of, ‘destruction of property’. Juvia waited patiently, her hands together in front of her and still standing stiffly, due to her nerves until he finally looked up at her.

“Council is always breathing down my neck, even when they have their own troubles to worry about.” His raspy old voice stated and he sighed. Juvia stood quietly, but she was a bit surprised about the small rant and her mouth was open, like she was going to speak, but she didn’t. He took in her appearance and spoke to cut her off, just in case she was going to comment on what he had said. “What troubles you, child?”

Could he really tell she was distressed and had he just called her child? It took her off guard, but she regained her composure as Gajeel’s face popped up in her mind and how he had looked.

“Well you see sir-”

“Don’t call me sir! Master or gramps even… Heck even Master Makarov if you’re the formal type, but not sir.” He interrupted sternly. Juvia just blinked and then regained her composure.

“Oh okay… Well master then.” Juvia started slowly, trying to work up the nerve still. “I need your help… Or… I have a friend who does.” She had been looking down and her hands had started wring together nervously, but she looked back up at him sadly. He had a hard, but serious face and for some reason, she felt like he knew who she was referring too, already. The question was, would he do it?

* * *

 

Seeing Levy that day, had left Gajeel in a not so great place mentally. He wasn’t sure what to do with himself, as dark guilty thoughts had begun to cloud his head. He had meandered through the streets of Magnolia in the opposite direction he had seen her go, almost as if trying to avoid ever seeing her again, or any of the Fairy Tail wizards, for that matter. She really had thrown him for a loop and she hadn’t even known it. It had bothered him so much in face, that even _his_ stubborn brain, had figured out, that he was guilt ridden and he really hated admitting that, even to himself.

He hadn’t bothered to change back into his clothes or to do much of anything, really. He had walked on for a while, as if trying to get as much distance from Levy as he possibly could.  Why did he have to feel so bad about it and especially after seeing her in the flesh…? No longer just in his memories…

He had wandered on for a good three hours and the streets were now full of people, going about their normal workday and the sun had gotten much higher in the sky.  Gajeel didn’t care for it, he didn’t want to be around any people especially now and he had also gotten hungry. He finally took in his surroundings seeing how far he had actually gone. He recognized what part of town he was in and he realized he wasn’t far away from where Phantom Lord’s guildhall had been, before it had moved to attack Fairy Tail. He felt himself automatically drawn to there, as his feet began to move. He wanted something to distract himself enough, so that he could just stop thinking about her for a minute.

It took a while, but he had finally managed to stumble upon the hole where Phantom’s guildhall had been. It was nothing, but ruble and left-over foundation and he began to stumble around it, there was no life anywhere. He found a shaded part of ruble and began to sort through it, looking for metal and iron he could chew on.

He was there for a while at least, before he heard tiny footsteps and caught wind of a scent he had only caught one other time before… The day that Fairy Tail had struck Phantom back, because of what he had done… _Makarov_ …?

 


	5. Mirajane Strauss

**Iron Gray Chapter 5 MiraJane Strauss**

 

Levy was sitting at the bar in the newly renovated guild, with a book open and her gale force reading glasses on. A perfectly normal Levy thing to do, an image you’d expect to see if you knew her; except… She didn’t appear to actually be reading it, upon closer inspection by a certain flaxen haired barmaid, Mirajane Strauss the guild sweetheart.

No, Levy sat instead with her elbow on the table and her head resting in her hand at an angle. There was the guise of the book being open right in front of her, the glasses and even her hair was tied up so it wouldn’t get in her face, but her eyes were up, not in the book. And the glasses had actually slid to the end of her nose lazily, so she wasn’t looking though them. She seemed completely out of it, as her hazel eyes looked dazed.

It was definitely unusual for her Mira thought, as she compared it to Cana, if she didn’t drink, or Gray if he didn’t strip. Normally nothing could really keep the tiny blue haired mage, from enjoying her books and she normally was able to focus on them, even when, all hell was breaking loose around her in the rowdy guild. Actually, it took a lot to break Levy’s concentration when she was reading, she was an expert at blocking everything out.

 _Something’s wrong here._ Mira’s thoughts echoed and she had to find out. She approached Levy from the other side of the bar, but Levy didn’t notice, clearly off orbiting some other planet. Mira smiled to herself thinking that she looked cute.

“Are you daydreaming about a certain special someone?!” Mira chided, not being able to help herself, mistaking Levy’s daze as possibly as a love sick one. This comment definitely snapped Levy out of her trance, causing her little form to jump a bit in her seat with a squeak and her glasses fell from her face.

“Wha-What?!” She quipped.

“Well… you seem to be enjoying something other than your book for a change! What are you, or should I say _who,_ are thinking about?” Mira asked, stifling a laugh at Levy’s reaction. Oh, Levy had been thinking about someone all right. He had been stuck on her mind all morning, but she wasn’t enjoying it.

“Do you really have to ask?” She asked Mira with a hopeless sigh, but this just made Mira even more curious and she just laughed lightly.

“Well now I definitely have to know! Have you finally got your eye on someone? Oh, Jet and Droy will be crushed!” Levy was cradling her head in her hands, as Mira spoke. The transformation wizard hadn’t quite gotten it right, actually it was quite the opposite.

Levy felt her face sinking with each word Mira said. _I wish it was some crush I was thinking about, instead of that man…_ She couldn’t help it, but ever since she had seen Gajeel that morning, she kept seeing him pop up in her mind. The whole scene playing over and over again, on repeat in her head and it was frustrating, because it was keeping her from enjoying her day. If anything, it had made her feel a little sick in her stomach. She had wanted him to be out of her life, as well as out of her head.

“Well… I’m waiting!” Mira broke through her thoughts and she was still smiling happily.

Levy glanced up at her worriedly. Should she tell Mira, that she had seen Gajeel? She definitely didn’t want to go around telling everyone... Most of the guild members would overreact and probably go out looking for the dragon slayer, to start trouble. She didn’t want that, not on her account, even if Gajeel deserved it.

Jet and Droy were out of the question, but Mira… She knew she could trust her with serious matters and her best friend Lucy wasn’t around to console her. Plus, Lucy may have not been the best choice anyways, because of what Gajeel had done to her as well.

She would be biased… _Wait who cares!_ Levy realized she herself, should be biased after what he had done to her, so why was she worried about that? She was getting confused and she glanced up at Mira clearly distressed. Mira saw the look and now her face looked concerned, realizing it was something more serious.

“What’s wrong?” She said softly, but clearly worried.

“Mira… Please don’t… Say anything...” Levy said softly, her voice quiet now. She looked at the table sadly, with her hand resting over the open book in front of her. Mira’s eyes softened a little and she rested her hand over Levy’s, making Levy look into her dark blue eyes.

“You have my word Levy.” Was all she said, her voice nurturing, but Levy still looked uneasy. Her eyes looked away from Mira’s, as she held a breath, but suddenly the words just came out fast as she exhaled, before she was even ready.

“I ran into Gajeel Redfox this morning!” She was panting slightly for a few seconds after she had said it. Mira’s face looked dark all of the sudden, her eyes became wide with either fear or anger, Levy couldn’t tell.

Levy’s brow furrowed, worriedly with a frown, wondering if she had made the right choice. Mira’s hand still rested over hers and after a pause, she felt it squeeze hers tensely. Mira’s voice came out cold and deadly serious.

“Are you okay?” Levy looked down at the question.

“Well… Yes. I’m here and not strung up to some tree, right?” Levy’s sad attempt to lighten the mood with the dark joke, only served to make the energy between them stiffer.

“Levy…” Mira said and Levy looked back into her blue eyes. “Did he try and talk to you?”

“No!” Levy cried out hastily, seeing where this could potentially be going. “He didn’t even see me actually…” She felt Mira’s tense hand ease up, as Levy scratched her cheek with her free hand. She let herself laugh nervously and planted on a weak smile. “It’s kind of funny…” Mira looked really worried as she waited for Levy to continue. “He was sleeping…” She finished.

Mira jumped at that, shock taking over her features, her hand now leaving Levy’s and going to her hips. Her face looked at Levy’s sternly. Levy avoided her gaze still smiling weakly and nervous.

“Sleeping!? He should be rotting in a cell!” Levy stole a glance back up at Mira nervously, unsure if she should say what she was thinking next. “He got off easy and now he’s still roaming around… It’s ridiculous!” Mira finished furiously she folded her arms, her eyes looking off angrily. Levy mustered up her courage, but she did it cautiously. She didn’t want to upset Mira any more, than she already had.

“Well… That’s the thing though… I’m not so sure he did get off easy.” Mira glanced back down at Levy, who was avoiding looking at her back. Mira was biting the inside of her cheek.

“What do you mean, Levy?” She asked sounding stern.

“Well… He wasn’t exactly doing well.” The words came out softly and she was staring down at her small hands, she looked forlorn. Mira watched her with an eyebrow raised and she looked perplexed for a moment, as she tried to understand Levy’s position. 

Levy could feel her eyes on her, but she found herself unable to move, she suddenly felt as though, she was being judged.

“Tell me about it.” Were the barmaid’s next words and Levy winced at the response, still refusing to look back up at Mira.

“He looked sickly and his clothes were rags… He was sleeping in an alleyway…” She finished, turning her head to the left to stare off sadly, as she remembered the man who had attacked her and what he had been reduced too.

Mira watched Levy with a hard stare and noticed how she avoided looking at her. Mira could feel herself inwardly cheering that Gajeel was receiving some kind of punishment after what he had done, but as she looked at Levy, she was beginning to understand. Maybe if she had seen the iron dragon slayer for herself, she would be feeling the same and less content about it. _I doubt it though…_ She thought.

“You pitied him.” She finally said more as a statement, than a question. Levy’s head snapped back up at Mira, her eyes full of confusion and sadness. It made Mira pain, to see her like that. She softened her dark blue eyes, as Levy looked at her almost pleading for help.

“What is wrong with me, Mira?” She questioned the barmaid desperately. “What kind of weak person, feels sorry for their attacker?” She added clenching her teeth at the end and squinting like she was trying to keep back tears. Mira felt a sad, but warm smile grace her lips. She could feel her own eyes shine, as she could see how much Levy was struggling internally. She reached out with both hands this time and wrapped them both around Levy’s smaller hands.

“You feel that way, because you are strong Levy, it is not a weakness.” Levy matched her eyes, both of the wizards had tears that threatened to come out, but they managed to keep them back. “It’s much harder to be forgiving, than it is to stay angry.” Mira said, her smile still warm. Levy looked at her, so confused and sad, she slipped her hands out of Mira’s grasp.

“I don’t forgive him! I just…”

“Can’t seem to hate him.” Levy looked back up at Mira, shocked that she had said it first. “If it had been anyone else you saw in such need of your help, you probably would have done something for them.” Mira stated still smiling, knowing Levy well enough. Her tone was soft and sincere. “It probably upset you, that you couldn’t help, because it _was_ him.” Levy looked down, how could that possibly make her strong? She didn’t get it. “See Levy that’s why you are resilient. Even after what he did to you, you still hold compassion in your heart towards everyone, including him. He couldn’t beat you in the end, if anything… It sounds like, he let you beat him.” Levy was so shocked a tear fell down her cheek. Mira suddenly reached over and hugged the tiny girl as best as she could from over the bar. “Just don’t blame yourself for him...” She whispered, as she hugged the teary-eyed Levy. Then she let Levy go and looked at her, at arm’s length. “And please don’t cry! It doesn’t suit you!” Levy smiled now at Mira, her face slightly red, but her eyes glossy and thankful. How had Mira understood so well, what it was she had been feeling, even better than she had herself?

“Thank you, Mira.” She choked out shakily, Mira just winked at her back, brightly.

“That’s what friends are for!” Levy just nodded with a laugh, her tears drying.

“Maybe it’s time I go see if those two teammates of mine have picked out a job for us yet!” Levy announced, feeling more like herself again, as she jumped down from her bar stool. Mira was pleased to see she had helped ease Levy’s troubles, but a thought struck her. Levy grabbed her glasses and book and was about to run off, when Mira reached out, grabbing the tiny girl’s elbow.

“Hey, but if the day ever comes when you are thinking about Mr. right, you better come to me first!” Levy laughed nervously at Mira’s innocent smile, her eye twitched.

“Yea okay! I doubt that will happen anytime soon!” Mira let her go and closed her eyes happily and tilted her head.

“Ya never know!” She chanted.

* * *

Gajeel stepped out of the mist heavy motel bathroom wearing nothing, but his boxer shorts and a towel draped around his neck, to keep his water heavy hair from dripping all over the floor. He stepped in front of the full-length mirror on the door, not looking into it, as he attempted to towel dry his soaked strands roughly, not wanting to sleep with it so wet. His mass of jet black hair stuck out in all directions, after he was finished. Some of the long streaks, hanging around his face all the way down to his torso. His red eyes shifted to the side and he stole a glance at himself in the mirror. Noticing despite how toned he still was, his muscle mass had shrunk considerably. He looked like shit, but at least he was clean and he could get some good sleep now that he had a bed.

Gajeel scowled and then made his way over to the twin sized bed and sat on the edge of it. He let his elbows land on his knees and his head fall into his large rough hands. Running one hand across the side of his face and then though his damp hair to scratch his scalp slowly.

 _Is this a good idea?_ He wondered to himself as the memory of his talk with Makarov, from earlier that day returned into his mind. After he had taken the tiny man’s hand, agreeing to join his guild, Fairy Tail of all places, Makarov had started briefing him almost immediately. He had told Gajeel, he had a mission for him already, one that only he could do. It was personal and secretive, but he would pay him handsomely for it. The other issue being that, it was highly dangerous and risky for both Makarov and Gajeel. Risky for Makarov, because he would be putting all of his faith into Gajeel, trusting him. Gajeel would be at risk, because he’d basically be a double agent.

Gajeel was only too anxious to start, after hearing that. He really wanted to get back to work and it sounded right up his ally. He knew he was good at playing the crooked guy… Since he was a crooked guy… Not only did he just want to do it, but he also knew that the mission was a test for him from Makarov. If he could pull it off and he didn’t betray the old man, then his intentions would be clear. Whether he meant to cause Fairy Tail more harm or remain true.

No, he was done with those days after what it had left him with; not even just the being broke part, either. The guilt and the fear, the worst part was, there wasn’t really any fix for these feelings… He realized he might always burden them, but he didn’t have to let them consume his whole being.

Juvia’s words floated back into his head, _“I see what you’re doing to yourself, but doing that won’t make anything better for anyone.”_ _Maybe the rain woman had been right_ , he admitted in his head, but he still scowled at himself, for thinking it.

Either way, he hadn’t really had any choice, but to take the old man’s offer or to sit there and continue to do nothing. He would have just gone on, existing in darkness, which was a waste, when he could be putting his skills to use, by working and fighting instead. Not only that, but Makarov had given him a hefty upfront payment for the job he’d be taking on, just enough to get him back on his feet.

 Gajeel was really grateful to the old man, even though he hated admitting that as well. He was also pretty pumped about the mission, despite how weary he felt, he had told Makarov he wanted to start immediately. Makarov had shrugged him off though, basically telling him to get cleaned up, rested up and to settle any other affairs. Then he could come in, to officially join the guild and get the run down on the mission he was to start.

Gajeel found himself smirking as he swung his legs up on the bed and then he laid back with his hands behind his head, not bothering to use the covers. He stared at the ceiling, thinking about what the job would require of him and how his magic, strength and wits, would all be put to the test… _Sounds like a lotta fun...Gihi._ The more he thought about it in his excitement, the heavier his eyelids were becoming, the thoughts drifting into dreams.

It had been a while since he had _really_ slept, but of course that was when a familiar face appeared in his mind, causing his eyes to snap back open.

It had been that girl’s face, Levy McGarden… She was still on his mind apparently, unwilling to leave without him realizing it, probably because of his run in with her, that morning. In the picture he had dreamed, she had her eyes closed, her face was bruised, bloodied and it was obvious she had been strung up, based on how her head and hair were hanging.

She was going to be there… He was going to have to see her again and the other two as well... Not to mention the blond chick and Salamander… Salamander he actually kind of looked forward to seeing, just so they could fight again. The others though, he didn’t really want to deal with at all, but what was he going to do about it?

Nothing… He wasn’t going to do a damn thing… He’d just leave them be and do his work. How else was he going to handle it? _I’m not joinin’ to make friends._ He could feel himself slowly drifting back into sleep again. Despite how he attempted to comfort himself with these thoughts, of coexisting with the other Fairy Tail members by ignoring them… The small girl’s beaten face continued to haunt Gajeel’s dreams for the rest of the night.

 


	6. Team Shadow Gear

**Iron Gray Chapter 6 Team Shadow Gear**

 

Levy awoke the following morning not particularly excited about anything, like she had been the day before, but at least she felt a lot more at ease since her talk with Mira. After she had spoken to the transformation mage she had been able to shake the events of the morning involving the iron dragon slayer, out of her head enough to focus on other things. She had already cleared through the book she had been excited about reading, without her glasses that night and now she was just hoping Jet and Droy could agree on a job for the trio. She took her time getting ready and by the time she was done, her two teammates were waiting for her outside of Fairyhills, so that they could all walk to the guild together.

She stepped out with a red bag draped over her shoulder, heading towards them with a smile on her face. Jet wore his normal furry coat and tall hat; he stood with his arms folded and a wide smile over his face. Droy stood beside him with his hands on his hips and a smirk. She waved to them happily calling.

“Morning boys!” They both couldn’t help the goofy smiles that took over their faces as they watched her bound up to them with a sweet smile on her face. They were also both blushing slightly when the words left their mouth at the same time.

“Morning Levy!” She giggled at their enthusiasm, very pleased not to walk alone this morning.

“You two ready to get back to work today?” She questioned with her hands clasped behind her back, as she stared up at her two, much taller teammates. The team hadn’t taken on a job in a good five days, since they had gotten back from their last one, because the new guildhall had been finished. They had instead, wanted to enjoy all the new features, like the pool and game room, not only that, but they hadn’t settled on a job that they all three liked.

“You know it!” Jet spoke first as he pumped his fist.

“Definitely, just want to get some breakfast in first.” Droy replied as he scratched his cheek. Levy began to skip ahead of them a few feet.

“Well what are we waiting for?! Let’s get going, besides! I think Lucy and Natsu might be back today, from what I hear!” She cheered, as her two teammates just both let out nervous laughs, both blushing again. Most of their mannerisms around her, were not lost on Levy; she was well aware of their crushes on her. She had known them for so long though; she could only ever view them as something more along the line of brothers.

They finally began their walk on over to the guild, Jet and Droy managing to only get into one tiny argument on the way. Levy’s spirits were up once again, as she walked on with them, even while they argued. All of the worries that had weighed over her yesterday, had rolled right off of her shoulders, leaving her to feel light and like herself again. She was normally the type to bounce back quickly and carry on carefree.

The three of them finally arrived at the guild and took their spots at one of the tables. Levy had already began pulling out a book to read, as the other two were about to head over to the bar and order, but Mira approached them instead.

“Hey you guys! I’m to relay a message to you. Master is waiting for Team Shadow Gear in his office!” She spoke, with her normal happy smile. The three of them looked at her a bit caught off guard.

“Is everything okay?” Jet asked, standing up.

“Did we do something wrong?” Droy questioned next, looking concerned as he also stood up. Levy stayed in her seat, letting her eyes glaze over her two teammates and then Mira worriedly. Mira put a finger to her lips and looked as though she were pondering the subject.

“Well, he didn’t really tell me anything, but I’m sure it’s fine! You guys better get up there though, because it was the first thing he told me to do this morning!” Mira finished, looking at them as though it was nothing.

The three of them exchanged nervous looks, all wondering what it could possibly be, considering it had never happened before. Levy finally pushed herself to her feet dramatically, even though the fact that she was now standing didn’t make much of a height difference, from when she had been sitting. She looked down at her own hands that were settled over the table, before looking back up to Jet and Droy with a stubborn expression over her face. They were both watching her uneasily.

“Let’s go then.” Her tone was flat and unafraid. They both just nodded at her grimly, clearly still unsure. They allowed the short girl to lead the way as they walked in a line to Master Makarov’s office door. Upon arrival to the door Levy found herself hesitating, as Jet and Droy hung over her, both of them with pale faces.

“Well-lll-ll… What-cha w-waiting for Levy?” Came Droy’s nervous voice from behind her. The encouragement making her as least raise her fist to get ready to knock, but then she froze again, feeling like her face was turning blue out of fear.

“Yea-aa I will just-” She stuttered out, not being able to finish the sentence.

“Then just do it!” Jet exclaimed, clearly freaking out as his arms were waving. Levy turned to them, the brave face she had, had earlier was now completely gone.

“Don’t rush me!” She cried back.

“Well what are ya waiting for!?” He shouted back.

"If you’re in such a hurry, you do it then!” She replied, her voice becoming high pitch as she pointed at Jet.

“Oh c’mon guys! He can’t be mad at us, we haven’t done anything!” Droy cut in.

"How do you know?! Maybe that’s why he’s mad?!” Jet yelled at Droy, clearly the most impatient.

“That ridiculous!” Levy found herself saying. “Why would the master care if we haven’t done a job in a few days?!” Her logic breaking through, as she sounded more annoyed rather than scared. Jet grabbed the ends of his hat and pulled them down dramatically, covering his eyes.

“I don’t knoooow!” He moaned.

“Why the heck else, would he want to see us, unless to punish us!?” Droy countered.

“Come on Levy! Let’s just get this over with!” Jet added, as she gave them both a small scowl and they both jumped at the face. She sighed and turned back to the door.

“Sure, easy for you to say, since I’ll be the first one going in.” she replied annoyed.

“Well, he won’t be able to stay mad at you!” Droy cried.

“Yea, you’re too cute!” Jet added causing Droy to send him a glare and him to return it, as they literally butted heads. She sighed for a second time, ignoring their flattery and instead, finally just knocked on the door, causing her two teammates to forget about each other.  They all three stood there, in an eerie dramatic silence with fearful looks on their faces.

“Come in!” Came the Master’s voice and they all three let out a breath they had been keeping in, only so they could hold it in again, as Levy opened the door. She stepped inside nervously, there were three chairs waiting for them, right in front of his desk. Master Makarov watched Levy with a serious face and this made her freeze, unsure if she wanted to continue inside. He watched her become scared, getting a small joy out of it, as he knew how people talked about his punishments being truly notorious, but of course, he didn’t want the poor girl to pass out. He smiled at her suddenly, laughing to make her calm down, as he saw Jet and Droy’s heads pop up from behind her tiny frame.

“Don’t fret my children! Take a seat in front of me! I’ve got no punishments in store for you!” He watched all three of them exhale deeply, as they filed in and took their seats before him. Jet sat down in the right chair and folded his arms looking kind of annoyed by the whole scare. Droy sat in the left chair, with his hands reaching down to the legs of the chair, looking alert still, just in case. Levy took her spot between the two in the middle, watching the Master carefully, her eyebrows slightly mangled, clearly wondering why they were there.

Master Makarov paused dramatically to look over each one of the members of Team Shadow Gear over, carefully. His eyes taking in every detail of their faces with a serious look, the two boys avoided looking back as he did this. Their faces growing uneasy until he had moved his eyes off of them, but Levy had looked back at him and she didn’t seem concerned, just patient. They all looked well, no marks or scars, no signs of injury left from the day they had been attacked and strung up.

The memory of what had happened to them, made his heart ache and he could feel the anger from it still boiling in the pit of his stomach. _Nobody hurts my children_. He thought again, just like he had that day. He let out a calming breath, so he could let the anger fizzle out some and it made the three tense up, as they waited for him to talk.

“I’m glad to see you three have recovered completely. We have something very important to discuss.” They all three stared up at him oblivious, not sure of what to say and with no clue as to what was coming. “I made a certain decision the other day without asking or talking to you three about it. I want to apologize for it now, because it does concern you all.” Now the team just looked startled as their guild master spoke. “My reasoning for making this decision as hastily as I did, is partially personal, but also because someone asked me too.” At this point Jet was leaning forwards onto his knees. Levy had her hands together, tensely and Droy had his arms glued to his sides, straight and stiff. None of them understood what their Master was getting at, but they were visibly worried now, as they realized it wasn’t good. “I hope you find it in your hearts to forgive me for being so rash, but I stand by my decision and I hope in time you will accept it and adjust.” The master had his hands weeded together and resting on his desk as he took in the meaning of their facial expressions.

It was quiet again, as he looked at them and he felt guilty for putting them in this position, but he didn’t see any other way in his own mind. He wasn’t about to turn his back on a wizard, who needed his help and he had confidence in his guild. They were strong, each and every one of his members were strong, in their own right. He wouldn’t throw anything at them, if he didn’t think they could handle it.

“It’s okay Master, what is it?” Levy spoke, interrupting the silence and his thinking. His eyes landed on her, unchanged. She looked as though, she was trying to hide her worry for him. He had to tell them, so that they wouldn’t be caught off guard. They deserved that much since he couldn’t consult them on the choice he had made. Makarov looked at his hands, but his voice came out commanding and as stern, as always.

“Gajeel Redfox will be joining Fairy Tail today.” He stated, unwavering. Levy felt her heart drop, her eyes suddenly grew wide and fearful and slightly wet, her mouth open. Jet jumped to his feet so fast and angrily at hearing the name, that his chair fell over, he looked at the Master with a crossed brow. Droy also stood up and looked about ready to run out of the room, shocked at what the Master had just said.

“Wha-What?! You’ve got to be joking?!” Droy choked out, but the Master met his gaze, unfazed by their reactions.

“No, I am not.” Was all he said.

Levy’s head went down, her large eyes now looking at her clasped hands that had started trembling. She felt her breathing hitch, as all of the memories of seeing Gajeel came back to her, her heart was beating fast _._

 _So much for not being afraid of him anymore… How am I going to deal with this…? I’m scared!_ Her thoughts were screaming, as she could see Jet trembling with anger in the corner of her eye. She gripped the bottom of her shirt tightly, as she quivered, trying to force out the fear and work up her nerve.

“What are you thinking gramps?!” Jet yelled, suddenly outraged, his arm whipping to the side. “After what he did to us?! How can you let him join?!” He continued, not as loud, but sounding more upset as memories from the attack, returned to him. Makarov just watched him calmly, letting the boy get out his emotions out, saying nothing in his defense. Jet stood up straighter, his fists at his sides were still clenched and trembling. His voice cracked as he spoke, “After we couldn’t stop him from grabbing Levy.” Levy heard the words and turned her head to look at him with wide, shining eyes. Jet was looking at the ground making his hat nearly cover his own eyes, obviously regretting how he’d been beaten, the day they were attacked. There was a long silence, until Droy finally spoke again, his voice sounding lost and pleading.

“Just… Why… Master? Please...?” He questioned desperately, he was also looking to the ground sadly. Makarov knew this was going to be asked, because of how vague he had been, but he didn’t know if they could understand his reasoning and he couldn’t tell them about the job he needed Gajeel for either.

“I had too, he was in trouble.” Was all he said, causing Levy to remember her conversation with Mira,

 _“It probably upset you, that you couldn’t help him out, because it was him...”_ Mira’s words echoed in Levy’s mind. She was still trembling, but she felt herself becoming braver, because she now understood why the master had done it. Master Makarov was like her in that way, that he didn’t just turn his back on people who needed him. She jumped to her feet now bravely, causing her two teammates to look up at her, surprised.

“It’s okay Master! We understand, we will adjust as you said.” She spoke and she watched him, still with the same look on her face. He could see she was terrified and it upset him, but he knew she was giving him her word. His eyes looked slightly saddened for a second, as he stared at her along with the other two boys in the room.

“But Levy-” Jet started, but he was interrupted as she turned to him.

“It’s okay Jet.” She said looking at him with a comforting smile, as best as she could, trying to stifle her fears. He was looking at her with a shocked expression, not knowing what to say, but her smile made him calm down a little and he nodded slowly at her. She turned back to Makarov and matched her eyes to his, still holding her smile. “We trust you Master.” She said, making her voice sound as confident as she could.

Markarov watched her for a moment, but then he nodded curtly at her, silently commending her courage. She understood him and she could feel some of her fear easing, at least a little bit, with his reassurance. She knew he wouldn’t do this, if he thought they would get hurt again, but it was still a hard thing to face. Droy was watching them both and also gaining courage from their exchange.

“Yea, it’s okay Master! We know you wouldn’t bring harm into the guild!” He stated enthusiastically.

“Well I’m glad. Please try to go about your normal business, I promise that the dragon slayer will leave you alone or he will pay dearly.” Makarov stated grimly. The three of them all looked up at him and nodded trying their best to look brave. He was proud of them, because he knew it was no easy feat to pretend like they didn’t have an awful history, with the newest member of their guild. “Well that is all children, you may go.” He said casting his eyes back on some paperwork on his desk and the three teammates were only too happy to exit the small office.

 


	7. Iron Gray

**Iron Gray Chapter 7 Iron Gray**

 

Team Shadow Gear made their way back to the table through the guild in silence. At this point, a lot of the other Fairy Tail members had made it to the guild to begin the day. Elfman was sitting at the bar talking to his sister, with a plate of pancakes in front of him. Something along the lines of, ‘pancakes are manly’. Mira was giggling at her brother, as she was wiping down the bar counter. Cana was already well into her first barrel of alcohol. Macao and Wakaba were sitting at the table, griping at her for drinking so early.

The three members of Team Shadow Gear sat back at their abandoned table, nobody else in the guild taking notice of their solemn demeanor, as they sat quietly for a few minutes.

“Well, I think I lost my appetite.” Droy was finally the first to speak. Levy looked to him, trying not to appear as worried, as she felt.

“Do you guys want to look for a job then?” She then asked, her voice soft, but they were quiet. Jet looked angry and Droy looked depressed, she tried to think of something else she could say. “Maybe it won’t be that bad, you guys.” Jet snorted at her statement.

“If the Master thinks I am ever going to trust that guy, then he has gone off his rocker.” He stated angrily. Levy let her eyes fall away from them, as she could see they weren’t interested in trying to fit in a job before the Fantasia parade now after the Master’s reveal. She began to get her book out again, deciding she’d attempt to read, as her two teammates stewed. She read for about twenty minutes, occasionally stopping to glance over in the direction of the guild door and her two teammates were unusually quiet the whole time.

“When do you think he’s going to come in?” Droy finally asked breaking the long awkward silence. Jet let his fist slam down on the table and he stood up, making Levy and Droy stare at him.

“I don’t know, but I’m not about to wait around another moment, just to find out!” He answered. Apparently, Jet and Droy had also been shifting their gazes at the guild doors as well, just as Levy had been. All three of them were caught in a state of reluctant suspense, for the moment when the iron dragon slayer would appear. “You guys want to hit up the pool with me?” Jet then asked, “I’m not going to let that iron idiot, ruin my day.” He added stubbornly, but it was clear he was furious and just looking for a distraction. Droy looked at him matching his face and stood up, as well.

“Sounds good to me. I don’t want to be here when he waltzes in, because I’ll probably get really angry when I see his smug face!” Droy replied, as he folded his arms. They both turned towards Levy, who hadn’t moved and then they smiled weakly at her.

“How ‘bout it Levy? You want to come with us?” She returned their smiles and then looked away from them, at the table.

“No thanks, you guys…” She looked back up at them apologetically, “I think I’ll just read...” Jet folded his arms and they both smirked at her knowingly.

“You and your books.” Was all Jet could say, but he said it proudly.

“We know it’s your escape, but if you need us, we will be there.” Droy added as he watched the girl steadily. She looked back up at them, smiling happily. She appreciated that they knew her well enough, to respect that reading was her way of dealing with _everything_.  She really felt fortunate to have them in her life.

“I know I can always count on you two!” She praised. Her eyes closed blissfully, as she said this and the expression over her face, had both boys blushing, and laughing nervously, before they finally said their goodbyes and left. Heading in the direction of where the Guild’s newly installed, pool was.

Levy watched Jet and Droy go and let out a breath, once they had disappeared fully from her view. The tension she felt coming off of her two partners seemingly disappearing, with them. She understood why they were upset, she herself was pretty on edge, but at the same time, she was grateful towards the Master. He had done something she couldn’t bring herself to do, even though she had wanted too…

She hated admitting it, but her thoughts kept drifting back to the conversation she had, had with Mira the day before. She couldn’t deny her feelings. Her teammates seemed to hold a lot of hate towards the iron dragon slayer, but Levy found that she herself, just could not hold onto those same feelings… And… She did not expect them to understand that... _She_ didn’t even entirely understand it completely, but she was aware of the negativity their hate, brought fourth. It made her uncomfortable, considering she couldn’t seem to make herself feel the same as them, anymore.

Levy sighed for a second time, her mixed up thoughts getting the best of her, as she cradled her head with both of her tiny hands. _Why is everything so confusing? Why can’t it all just be black and white? But instead it’s gray… Iron gray…_

Her face flushed a little red at the words of her own thoughts, feeling silly and clearly embarrassed for thinking them. Almost as if to add to her statement, it was right then that the guild doors busted opened. Dramatically enough to make everyone look up at them and there, two figures stood in the doorway. 

Every member of Fairy Tail in the main guild room, with the exception of Levy, was on their feet at once. Seeing the person before them, had motivated them up, but they were all too shocked to actually sprint out and attack. Instead most just stood there, with their mouths agape. All of them were wondering if what they were seeing was real, with the exception of Mira, who just looked severely annoyed.

Levy’s back was facing the door, but she knew who it was, without even turning to look. Her head was up, her doe-like eyes going wide, her cheeks still holding a slight tint of red… She wasn’t sure if she wanted to dare the look, over her shoulder.

 

Gajeel stood back in the doorframe of the newly renovated Fairy Tail guild, right behind his former Phantom guild mate Juvia. The way he towered over her and hung back, made him look like he was her shadow. Juvia had been the one to throw open the doors to the guildhall, as so to get people’s attention. She had wanted everyone to see Gajeel so that he wouldn’t surprise any of them later on and she stood in front of him just in case anyone was going to try and attack him. She knew of course, he wouldn’t mind a fight, but if it happened like this, it wouldn’t be good for anyone. It wouldn’t be, because he was an ally, joining in their rough housing, but instead because of what he had done while in Phantom. She stood before him now, as everyone stared at the pair in a shocked silence. Juvia made sure to hold their stares with her serene eyes.

Gajeel hadn’t moved, he stood behind Juvia, his arms folded and his head looking off to the side with a scowl, avoiding everyone’s looks. He didn’t really know how to act any other way, but indifferent. He heard Juvia take a step forward and that was when he decided to steal a glance around the newly built guildhall. It was so new he could still smell the freshness of the paint and wood with his dragon slayer nose.

He shifted his head forwards and let his red eyes glaze over the main room with a studded brow raised, his only outward sign of his discomfort, was from the awkward situation. He began to look over each member that stood, within the guild. All of them appeared to be attack ready, just in case he was looking for a fight, but their faces were either shocked or going from shocked to angry. His eye paid special attention to the ones he was familiar with, such as Beast Arm Elfman, who had been surprised initially to see Gajeel, but now looked as though, he was going to pound him. He saw the clearly irritated, barmaid; she was the one who had once been known as the She Devil. His eyes drifted some more, until he noticed the cream puff man, with the odd picoto magic, staring at him, terrified. Gajeel had to keep himself from laughing at the painter’s fear.

 Gajeel was just about done with his look around, realizing there was no sign of Salamander or Titania. He saw a few more faces he remembered from the battle with Phantom, all of them looking spiteful at him, until finally he noticed one person in the room, who did not have their eye on him. He had almost missed her, because of how small she was. She was sitting at a large table, all alone, with her back to him. He could feel his body going stiff from the discomfort that had settled in his gut, upon seeing her again. As if only to make things worse, it was right then while he had his piercing red eyes over her, that she had decided to steal a glance at him, from over her shoulder.

Their eyes met, both of them looking fearful and Gajeel finally, got a look at the face that had been haunting his nightmares, for far longer that he would have liked. It was only for a few seconds, but it was long enough for him to see her large, golden doe-like eyes look deeply fearful and to notice the slight pink tint, to her alabaster cheeks. Her wild blue hair, was kept up in its unique style by the tie around her head, out of her face just like the morning before and… On the night he had went after her. He could feel heat gathering in his face and he suddenly looked down shamefully, with his eyes shut for a few seconds, before gathering his sanity. He forced himself to look back up and look bored and indifferent again, but his heart was beating really fast. Inwardly his stomach was flipping and then he could feel it… That damn guilt! Was she going to do this to him each and every time, he so much as looked at her? He hated it.

 

Levy had unfortunately timed her look at the door, at exactly the wrong time and almost as if to jest at her misfortune further; her eyes landed right on the iron dragon slayer’s, without so much as a second glance. She was already afraid, but he was looking at her… Not only was he looking at her, those piercing red eyes bored right back into her own and she could feel all of her emotions being revealed to him through them. She wanted to look away, so as not to show him her weakness anymore, but instead she just paused, her eyes shining.

She began to search his face with her timid gaze, so then, that way, the stare wouldn’t seem to rattle her, as much as it did. She saw his wild jet-black hair, looking tamer than it had the morning before, as though he’d washed it. She glazed over his slightly crinkled forehead, her eyes landing on each stud over his eyes. Then she looked at the nicely defined point of his nose and the six studs that lined it. Her eyes took notice of his prominent cheekbones and his heavily pierced ears. She even looked at the curve of his lips and the two studs on his chin and allowed her eyes to glide along the angle of his jaw line, avoiding his eyes as much as possible.

She had tried at least, but now there was nothing left, but to stare right back into them… She could still feel the blush from earlier, heating her cheeks. She finally just shifted her head back and away from him, just as he had looked down and away from her. She could feel how much her heartbeat had sped up and she was trembling slightly, she was praying he hadn’t seen it. She clutched at her chest with one of her hands. How was she possibly going to get used to him? She could hardly even look at him, without becoming visibly terrified and she hated it.


	8. The Quiet

**Iron Gray Chapter 8 The Quiet**

 

Levy’s thoughts were interrupted by the shouts of a very angry Elfman.

“What the hell is he doing here?! You better leave our guild or face the wrath of a real man!” He roared, drawing everyone’s attention. His arm was going into beast mode.

Gajeel found himself smiling with his fangs revealed, as he stared down the white-haired giant, with a certain gleam in his eyes. He _wanted_ to fight him; he could feel his blood suddenly pumping with excitement, as his feet automatically got in a ready stance. Juvia stepped up though, blocking any path to the iron dragon slayer.

“No! He is here with me! Master Makarov knows he is here!” She yelled defensively.  Everyone including Levy turned to look at Juvia now. Her face looked determined and unafraid, as she held her ground to all of them.

 

Levy felt her eyes widen, as she turned her body all the way around in her seat to gaze at Juvia. _Of course,_ she thought. They had been guild mates after all. So, it was likely that they were friends as well, but the idea was still somehow, hard to fathom to the script mage. Juvia had come across as such a sweet person, whom Levy had also seen as holding remorse, for her actions towards Fairy Tail while in the Phantom guild. It was hard to imagine her, let alone anyone being friends with the iron dragon slayer. Then again, Levy realized she didn’t really know anything about him… Other than the one thing… As if there was any other part or side, of Black Steel Gajeel to get to know.

 _No! He hurt me!_ Levy’s mind was suddenly screaming _. And my teammates! And Lucy!  What more do I need to know?!_ Her eyelids were crashing shut, she was getting so aggravated with all of the mixed-up thoughts popping up in her head. She heard Elfman’s booming voice sound again, pulling her out of it all thankfully.

“That can’t be right Juvia! Look at his face?! The Master wouldn’t-”

“Elfman!” It was Mira who shouted this time; she was calm, but not happy. Her words came slow and got quieter, as her sentence progressed. “Juvia is right… He is here to… Join the guild.” The last part was pretty quiet, but everyone still heard it, because of the overwhelming silence that had taken over.

Again, nobody could seem to move or say anything, all of them wondering if what they had heard was correct. Elfman looked to Mira as his arm went back to normal and he was clenching his fist, as he trembled with anger. Then he began to speak the words everyone was waiting to hear.

“No way Mira... The Master wouldn’t let him- After what he did to our guild- And to-” Mira stopped him with her hand up in the air, before he could utter another word. Her eyes were closed stubbornly and she let her arm fall back down to her side. She opened her eyes and looked upon her baby brother with such intensity in her dark blue irises, that he could no longer deny, that what she was telling him and the rest of the guild present, was the truth. Everyone was watching Elfman now and he couldn’t seem to stop himself from turning his head, and automatically finding Levy.

Levy’s heart sank at the gesture, her tiny frame overcome with another quivering fit for a few seconds. She had looked back at the large transformation wizard and hadn’t been able to hide her fear quick enough, he looked afraid for her too. She looked away from him as Mira spoke up finally, to draw all the attention away from Levy, that some were picking up on from Elfman’s look.

“Master told me that Gajeel Redfox would be joining Fairy Tail today.” She looked to Juvia now and then to Gajeel who still had a small smirk planted over his face, as everyone began to glare at him. Mira’s voice didn’t sound carefree like it normally did, but instead it held a certain weight. Still, she seemed to be handling the news better than most. She walked out from behind the bar, while everyone was watching.

Juvia could see how tense the situation still was, as everyone watched them. She turned around and looked to Gajeel with her serene eyes. His smile disappeared, as he looked at her a bit perplexed, unsure of what she was going to say.

“Come on.” Was all she said, her voice completely calm, as usual, but for some reason it made _him_ uncomfortable. He was really going to do this? He was going to join a guild that undoubtedly _hated_ him and his very exsistance. He couldn’t seem to help the hand that came up and rubbed the back of his head, as Juvia began to step forward and he followed her.

 As Juvia approached Mira, she looked around at everyone, her new guild mates… Her new family. They were all staring and although it made her uneasy she didn’t think they would do anything, but just for safe measure.

“Gajeel won’t harm any of you.” Gajeel was a little embarrassed by the words Juvia spoke. He handled it, by just folding his arms and appearing indifferent again. That was when another voice was heard, that turned everyone’s attention once again.

            “You’re darn right he won’t. And if he does he will answer to me!” It was Master Makarov. He had appeared, standing on the balcony above them all and everyone seemed very relieved to see him. Gajeel just raised a studded brow up at the old man, but said nothing; his actions of the past had done enough.

Juvia looked very pleased to see the old man and she smiled at him knowingly, he had her back, just as she had trusted.

“Gajeel will be part of  Fairy Tail, and you will all try and accept that.” The old man stated stubbornly and although most guild members groaned, they all seemed to somewhat accept it once they heard it from his mouth. They began to chat amongst themselves again; finally allowing the tense silence to disappear and for some reason Gajeel felt himself smirk again. He wasn’t sure why exactly, but his spirits were lifted as the tension eased.

 

Mira closed the gap between them as the guild finally seemed to have moved on with life and continue on with their normal activities. Levy watched from her seat trying not to look obvious, as she did so. At least Gajeel’s back was to her now, so he couldn’t look her way anymore and she let out a breath of relief at that. She watched as Mira spoke to Juvia, with Gajeel by her side, but she could no longer hear their conversation. Juvia seemed a lot more at ease and was smiling brightly. Mira also seemed to become less worried. She watched as the white-haired barmaid, said a word or two to Gajeel, who in response just made a vague shrugging motion. The slight motion seemed to cause Mira to look slightly annoyed with him, but again she seemed much more like herself.

Levy was a bit curious, but not enough to investigate further… She had, already had her fill of being crazy confused for one day. All she really wanted to do at the moment was get lost in a book. Close off the world around her and only let the words on the page be her focus… No more fear, no more uncertainty, just simple text on paper and a story to escape into. So that was what she began to do, it was her ultimate defense mechanism.

 

Gajeel shrugged off the question Mira had asked him about where he wanted his Fairy Tail insignia and what color. He hadn’t given it much thought at all. It had been a mistake to do that, because then he could see anger welling up in the demon barmaid’s eyes, all caused by him being ‘difficult’ as she had said. He glanced away from her and that was when Juvia had chimed in. Something about black… And being on the opposite shoulder as his Phantom mark. He hadn’t really been paying attention, because he had felt an odd sense strike him. It felt like a small weight was lifted off of his shoulders for some reason.

His dragon slayer ears began to train hard, listening to all of the sounds around him. He could hear everyone talking and breathing in the room he was standing in, along with the others below, above, outside… They were all so _loud_ and he found it kind of annoying, but the noise wasn’t what he was listening for. He was listening instead for the quiet...

He had definitely heard it and for some reason it had relaxed him some. His ears were straining so hard to hear ‘the quiet’ underneath all of the noise that he made a funny face, as his ears listened for the quietest spot in the whole entire guild. Finally, after some effort, he realized how close it had actually been and he looked over his shoulder, so that he could see where it was, only to find Levy again…

She was there in the quiet, it practically melted off of her… And all she was doing was reading. His studded brow lifted up in surprise, he hadn’t expected it, maybe because he knew how much she feared him. He began to focus in on her and any noise she made, because it had become so minimal. Her breathing had calmed drastically and her heartbeat had slowed. He took in her appearance for a second time… She looked… Content.

It was almost like she had forgotten he was even there and for some reason it made him smirk for the third time and all he could think was, _at least someone in this crazy guild can be quiet_.

* * *

After Gajeel had gotten his Fairy Tail insignia stamped in black to his left shoulder, he had spent the rest of the morning in Master Makarov’s office alone, going over the mission he would be doing. He realized the significance of it as Master Makarov spoke. He wanted Gajeel to find a Master Ivan, the leader of a guild called Raven Tail, Makarov’s son actually. The plan was for Gajeel to seemingly do Ivan’s bidding and he would supposedly spy on Fairy Tail for him.

Gajeel was excited by the project, it was right up his alley, after all. He decided he wouldn’t waste any time, because he wanted to prove his worth to the old man and he wanted to prove his loyalty to his newly affiliated guild. He planned on getting started with his search for Ivan that day, already formulating a plan as to what he would tell the Raven Tail guild leader, to convince him of his loyalty.

It was simple, he would just tell Master Ivan how he craved for vengeance on Salamander and the rest of the Fairy Tail guild. He planned on setting out right after he ate his lunch, using what little information Makarov had been able to give him.

He sat down with a tray of metal at one of the tables and smirked knowingly. Information had never been hard for him to get, what with his methods. He was pounding a gloved fist into his hand, clearly not being able to contain his excitement. He was so happy at the prospect of working again and getting to beat people up even more, he let out his unique laugh quietly, as his smirk spread out to a full out grin.

It was just then, that Juvia stepped up to his table; he glanced up at her kind of annoyed by the interruption of both his lunch and ‘happy thoughts’. She smiled at him brightly, despite the pointed scowl that washed over the iron dragon slayer’s features _. What does she want…?_ Was all he could think suspiciously, growling inwardly.

* * *

Levy had kept at her reading for most of the afternoon, skipping lunch altogether, completely at ease as she did so. That was until she had heard the familiar shouting of her best friend and fellow bookworm Lucy Heartfelia. The excitement of their return causing her to instantly drop the book, so she could greet them. She found Lucy, Erza, Happy and Gray gawking as they stepped inside the entrance of the brand-new guildhall. All of them amazed by the sheer overwhelming size of it… Well except for Natsu, who appeared to be pouting over the changes.

Levy made it her own personal business to show the group around and point out all of the new rooms. She even showed them the pool outside, where Jet and Droy had been hanging out and immediately joined them in the main hall upon seeing the script mage. Everything was going swimmingly, that was until Master Makarov stepped up, to show them that Juvia had joined the guild, along with a certain someone else.

That was when it started… Just as all of the other guild members had earlier that morning, Natsu, Erza, Gray and Lucy all froze in place, becoming instantly angry or fearful over seeing Gajeel there. Natsu clearly the most outraged, began to pick a fight with the fellow dragon slayer.

Levy couldn’t seem to help it; she had been distracted most of the day with her reading and then with Lucy’s return. She had kind of let Gajeel’s presence slip under the radar, but then once she saw him again… She felt herself cowering as she watched his steely red eyes glare, angrily back into Natsu’s fierce black ones. The two went back and forth; surprisingly fist and magic were kept at bay for the time being, probably because of the Master being present.

Master Makarov was speaking in defense of the iron dragon slayer to the small group, just as he had to the whole guild earlier, but they didn’t seem all that eased. That was when despite her fears Levy also spoke up, saying that if she could be ‘okay’ with it, then surly, they could be.

She wanted to show Master Makarov her support, as she promised she would and not to mention, she wanted it to be true. She didn’t want to be afraid of Gajeel if she was going to _have_ to be around him. The words were all she could seem to muster though, as she couldn’t seem to hide her fear physically. She was shaking as she spoke and attempting to ‘hide’ or at least be out of the path of his red eyes.

Despite the obvious fear Levy gave off though, the group begrudgingly seemed to accept her words, but it was then that Levy took notice of the spiteful glares her two teammates were sending the iron dragon slayer. She frowned, knowing that whatever they were thinking wasn’t going to be good and she didn’t know if she was going to be able to talk them out of it. It was at that moment she again found herself wishing she could be stronger… She didn’t want to be scared.

* * *

Gajeel had heard her… Even though at the time he was in the midst of a deadly staring match with Salamander, so badly wanting to fight the other dragon slayer, but holding back. He had caught the words Levy had said, part of him wondering if it was true. He let it slip out of his mind, just as quickly as it entered though, as he was too busy with salamander. Eventually their scuffle came to an end, before a real fight broke out and Gajeel instead thought about what Juvia had talked to him about.

She had basically told him that, there would be a performance spot open that afternoon. He had looked at her quizzically, but she kept prodding him about it, saying if he performed, it might make the other members of the guild warm up to him basically. He wasn’t sure he really cared about that, but…. He did kind of want to sing though.

Playing guitar and singing had been something he picked up, while growing up and it had kind of become a hobby of his. He found he enjoyed writing songs and he was all self-taught. Of course, Juvia knew about it, because he had told her, but he hadn’t really gotten to perform in front of a large crowd. Although he did it more for himself then others, the idea of performing in front of an audience did seem appealing… _I might have a little time to kill, before I get started on that mission_ … Gajeel thought to himself as he stood up from his spot with a smirk, thinking about the condition of his suit.


	9. Lucy Heartfelia

**Iron Gray Chapter 9 Lucy Heartfelia**

 

_Did that really even happen…?_

Levy was already well aware that Fairy Tail was no average guild, as she had been in it since she was a kid. So how was it, that even after all these years, it could still manage to surprise her, to the point of not being able to form coherent words? As if the fact that Gajeel had joined the guild wasn’t enough for one day, she had just witnessed something, that she was still having trouble fathoming.

Gajeel had been _singing_ and wearing a suit… It was kind of… Freaking hilarious! She didn’t know if she should be more shocked or hysterical by what she had just seen.

After everything Gajeel had done to her, Levy had already formed certain assumptions about the iron dragon slayer based on his past discretions. Not once had she ever imagined him being into _music_. She had been too busy picturing him as a monster, until literally just the other morning after her peculiar run in with him. She had just been on the cusp of moving on and coming to terms with Gajeel joining Fairy Tail, when she had suddenly witnessed his surprise performance on the guild stage.

She would have never believed it, if she hadn’t seen it for herself.  The mere idea of it was just downright _ludicrous_ and still hard for her to grasp. The memory of it was sticking to the walls of her brain like glue, bringing out the strangest look on her face. Her head was a flurry of passing images of Gajeel wearing his goofy white suit and strumming a guitar, as she sat alone at her table.

The guild had calmed considerably since the show and Levy was still finding it difficult to deny what she had seen. As if that hadn’t been unbelievable enough, the even funnier thing about the whole spectacle, was that some of her fellow guild mates had actually _enjoyed_ Gajeel’s awful singing and cheered him on! That was until Natsu had screamed about how terrible Gajeel’s voice was, causing the all-out fight she had been expecting earlier in the day, to finally break out between the two dragon slayers.

 Then of course the rest of the guild had gotten dragged into the fight as well. And that had been the moment Levy knew… Knew that she was still indeed in Fairy Tail and not some strange parallel universe, like an overused plot device in one of the many books she read.

  _If Gajeel keeps it up he is going to fit right in..._ Levy found herself thinking with an odd goofy smile, as she thought about her crazy guild and then she shook her head in disbelief at the unexpected thought. She could feel the slight heat move up to her cheeks and a chill ran up the center of her back.

 _Seriously, what is wrong with me?_ Levy cradled her head as she could feel herself growing somber at the mere confusion of her own shuffled thoughts.

 _Do I want to accept Gajeel or do I want to hate him?_ Levy let her head fall to the table with her small stick-like arms stretching out and over the surface, her eyes closing in defeat over her own confused musings.

“Levy…? Ya okay?” Levy popped up as she heard Lucy’s voice and she gave her a friend a nervous laugh.

“Sorry yea… I’m good.” She replied as Lucy took a seat next to her, looking a bit alarmed at the tiny script mage. Levy looked away, her face looking a bit nervous now, as her eye twitched uncomfortably. Lucy allowed her face to rest on her hand as she watched Levy suspiciously.

“Kind of surprised you’re not reading anything.” Was Lucy’s next statement, causing Levy to jump a little with excitement.

“Oh! Speaking of that Lucy! I got this awesome new book for you! I already finished it! You’ve got to read it though!” Lucy jumped at Levy’s sudden drastic change, but she found herself just laughing.

It wasn’t really that surprising, considering the conversation had moved to books and it was Levy whom Lucy was speaking too, but still the sudden change in subject felt a bit too forced for some reason. Was it possible that Levy was maybe avoiding some other topic? Lucy paused after her laughter subsided, thinking about it, as she watched her friend who had become very animated as she went on talking about the book in question.

It was kind of a shame. She felt bad for shrugging off Levy’s excitement, because she realized she would probably gush about the book just as much as Levy was, if she herself had read it. Then Levy rested a hand on Lucy’s shoulder making the blond finally catch the tail end of her words.

“Lucy…?! You weren’t listening to me?!” Levy questioned alarmed, earning an embarrassed laugh from the blond, at having been completely caught not paying attention.

“Sorry Levy! I was just-” But this time it was Levy’s turn to ask

“Are _you_ alright?” Levy asked furrowing her brow in worry. “That was a pretty serious incident you guys got involved in.” Lucy shook her head.

“I’m fine, Natsu’s the one who got sick from it. Still not sure if he’s completely over it yet.” Levy’s eyes widened.

“Sick?”

“Yea… he ate some ethernano and well… I guess it is made up of a bunch of different elements. He seriously slept for three days after it happen!” Lucy exclaimed.  “It’s part of the reason why, it took us so long to get home. Not to mention Erza needed to recover too.” Lucy added, sounding a little down with the last part. Her chocolate eyes having gone downcast, Levy searched her face and felt herself let out a breath she was holding.

“I’m really glad you guys made it back finally. I’m just relived that you’re all okay.” She found herself saying seriously, Lucy glanced back up, looking truly grateful.

“Yea me too, it was a close call.” Levy smiled warmly and let out a small laugh.

“Isn’t it always with you guys?” Lucy found herself smiling back, because it was the absolute truth, before chiming in,

“I guess that’s what I get, for being part of Fairy Tail’s strongest team.” Levy just nodded her head, a big befitting smile over her face.

“You’re so lucky!” she cheered.

“Yea…. I’m not so sure about that.” Lucy grumbled at Levy’s enthusiasm, but deep down she did feel grateful. Truly grateful that she had joined Fairy Tail, that she had made friends who were now her home and her family. They were dependable and loyal to a fault, so much so, that Lucy couldn’t even imagine her life without them at this point. She could feel herself swelling up with pride, as she thought about this, her cheeks blushing slightly. Levy meanwhile was taking notice to the shade of red now appearing over Lucy’s face, causing a sly smile to grace the small girl’s lips.

“What’re you thinking about Lucy? A guy?!” Levy exclaimed the question, not realizing she was doing the exact same thing Mira had done to her the day before. Lucy jumped incredulously with hands back.

“No way!” She shouted, Levy just continued to smile letting her head fall on her hand dreamily.

“Yea right Lucy, I caught you! Fess up!” Levy just continued to giggle at her friend’s expense, causing Lucy to give her a pointed look, but Levy ignored it, preoccupied by her small fit of laughter. It was then that Lucy got a sly smile of her own and she let out a small evil laugh, causing Levy to stop giggling and look at her friend with a raised eyebrow, as if to say, ‘what are you laughing at?’.

“You’re one to talk Levy! You looked pretty distressed when I walked over here. You wanta tell me who _you_ were thinking about?” Lucy’s voice dripped with smugness, sitting idly by as she watched Levy’s eyes grow big and her mouth fall open with nothing to say. The blond couldn’t help, but giggle evilly behind the Fairy Tail insignia on her hand. _So busted Levy_. Lucy thought, and now she was wondering who the heck it could possibly be.

Levy couldn’t seem to hide the sheer shock Lucy had given her, by calling her out. Although the thoughts she had just been having about Gajeel, weren’t exactly what Lucy thought they were. The fact that she had been having them at all, still bothered her, because she didn’t understand them. She was so mixed up about it, she wasn’t sure if it was out of shame or embarrassment or whatever! She didn’t want to even begin to explain it to anyone else yet.

Mira had been enough and now it seemed like the ideas were evolving into something else. Levy didn’t really want to deal with it herself, let alone tell others about them. Levy watched Lucy nervously, as her face began to look very menacing with the evil grin plastered over her lips.

“Look, I know I’m right. So, are you going to spill or what?!” Levy was about to speak up, but leaned back as Lucy neared her. The two girls faces got close, Lucy giving Levy a stare down, that could more than rival that of Gajeel and Natsu’s, earlier. That was when the heaven’s seemed to part on Levy’s behalf and she was saved from Lucy’s onslaught.

“Levy!” It was Droy that had hollered her name and it caused both of the girls to jump. Levy breathing out in relief at the interruption and Lucy looking up aggravated by it. Droy stepped up to them and had a strange goofy grin on his face.

“What-re you guys doing?” He asked and then they noticed he was blushing. “You guys were really close, just now...” Lucy immediately jumped to her feet getting outraged and pointing a finger right in the taller, tan mage’s face.

“It’s not what you were thinking! Pervert!” She screamed in her usual angry yell. This caused Droy to put his hands up in defense, becoming frightened by the sheer magnitude of Lucy’s anger, which he wasn’t used to being the target for.

“Okay, okay! Whatever you say, I’m sorry!” He cried out making Levy laugh triumphantly. She was just glad she hadn’t needed to be the one to have to say anything to her sometimes, perverted teammate. Lucy folded her arms and her cheeks puffed out as she dropped back down in her seat.

“You’re darn right!” She mumbled angrily. It was then that Levy took the opportunity to find out what it was, Droy had wanted.

“What’s up Droy?” Levy questioned cheerfully, he rubbed the back of his head relieved for the subject change.

“I need you to come with me Levy. Jet is waiting for us outside.” Levy looked at him skeptically, completely clueless as to what this could be about. Droy’s features hardened a little and she paused to look at him, a sinking feeling taking over.

Somehow from the look he gave her she just knew, as she had suspected and worried about it earlier. She stood up and Lucy watched the two of them with a blink, trying to understand why they both suddenly looked so serious. Levy turned to Lucy and tried her best to hide the gravity of the situation with a weak smile.

“We’ll catch up later Lu!” Levy’s voice came, sounding falsely cheerful, but Lucy gave her a frigid nod, her eyes still wide with confusion.

“Um… yea sure… Okay Lev.” The words fumbled out of Lucy’s mouth slowly and unsure, before Levy turned away from the puzzled blond. Then without another word the two members of Team Shadow Gear left through the guild doors together, almost cryptically. Lucy stood there a bit shaken by their sudden off-putting demeanor, _wonder what the heck that was about?_


	10. Gajeel Redfox

**Iron Gray Chapter 10 Gajeel Redfox**

 

Evening had fallen over Magnolia, casting the sky into deep oranges and rich purples as stars had started to poke out of the colorful gradient veil. Levy walked the stone bricked streets, a lone figure in the desolate quiet town, most of its people had already turned in for the night. Tomorrow marked the official start of their weekend and with it, the preparation for Fairy Tail’s annual Fantasia parade.

Levy had been looking forward to it, but she couldn’t seem to help the drag in her feet, as she made her way towards Fairy Hills. Her eyes were downcast, watching her own feet as she took her slow tiny footsteps, all while hugging her red bag tightly to her chest, with both arms as though it comforted her. Her face looked weighed down with worry, as she carried on.

She had, had the most peculiar day and quite frankly, she was overwhelmed. Too many thoughts streaked with exhausting emotions, all brought on by a series of events that had happened within the span of two days’ time. She couldn’t seem to turn her brain off and it was stressing her out. The worst part being, that all of her the thoughts were centered on Gajeel.

Black Steel Gajeel the Iron dragon slayer, once an S-Class member of the Phantom Lord guild and Master Jose’s right-hand man; now a member of Fairy Tail and also the man who had brutally attacked her and her friends. She knew all of that, but… _Gajeel Redfox who are you really?_

After today, it had become the one legitimate question that Levy couldn’t answer and it was plaguing her mind into madness as she walked. All the titles and definitions of who he was had painted a flat picture of him, to her. One she had been afraid to look at head on. He was a powerful wizard, who seemed to get a joy out of hurting others. He threw his weight around, he acted without question, and he didn’t care for others. He was an arrogant man, mean, cruel and strong. This had been the image of Gajeel, she had painted in her head. How else was she supposed to see him, after the way they had come to know one another? Could one even consider such circumstances, as meeting a person?

  _No, I don’t think so…_ Levy sighed to herself; Gajeel had become the bad guy in her eyes _and_ her guilds, but now? It was as though she had finally gotten a chance to walk around him. Before, her fear of what had transpired between them, keeping her at a distance so she could only ever see the front, the flat front. Now that she could get close or was forced to be closer to him, what with him joining the guild, she could now see him from many different angles. The new viewpoints revealing how three-dimensional he actually was and he was different… It wasn’t the same face, she had seen on that first night, because that original face of his, had been the only one she could see from the front, as well as the only one she had been able to make out from far away. 

The dark Gajeel that had terrified her and casted its large, dark shadow over his other sides, concealing them so that she couldn’t see, so that nobody could. That was what it had felt like after today. Like there was something else, something more and it was coming out. almost reluctantly from him; like he didn’t mean for it, but he just couldn’t keep it _all_ hidden. But why though and why was this happening, after she had already made up her mind about him? This upset her for some reason, almost like she hadn’t wanted to be wrong about him. How could he go from being the object of her fears, to her hero in one single day!

Levy stopped walking as she felt her chest tighten up and she squeezed her bag, and all of the books she carried inside of it, even tighter, her nails digging into its fabric. For some reason, she felt like crying, as she couldn’t stop the memory of what had happened that afternoon from playing over, for the millionth time, in her head. She felt her whole-body rock; the sickness was settling in her stomach, she felt awful about it.

* * *

 

Earlier, after Droy and Levy had left Lucy and headed out of the guild, they had found Jet waiting for them. The three of them had only waited a few minutes, before the iron dragon slayer had appeared just as Levy had suspected. She had, had a feeling that this was coming, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself from cowering, as she watched Gajeel’s red eyes glare up in their direction.

The fear caused her to practically hide behind the tree they stood by, but he only glared at her for a mere second, before staring down her two teammates, that stood bravely in front of her. She glanced over at them as well, not remembering the last time she had seen them so angry, she could swear their eye’s matched Gajeel’s redness. The iron dragon slayer did not appear intimidated by their intense glares; instead he seemed rather amused, which only worried Levy all the more.

Jet and Droy began their verbal assault, at which Gajeel had just commented back mockingly, about letting it all go, forgiving and forgetting. Levy could see that, Gajeel didn’t take them seriously and she was afraid. Afraid, that he would hurt them again, because she knew Jet and Droy were going to go after him.

She made one last ditch effort to calm them down, agreeing with what Gajeel was saying, bringing up Master Makarov’s wishes, but it was of no use. She couldn’t stop them and honestly, she didn’t know if she had a right too, but she didn’t want to be part of it. In fact, she was kind of upset with her two teammates, for dragging her into their plot against him without warning. But she knew, that they probably thought that _this_ , this was what she had wanted, because like them, she should want revenge… But she just didn’t. Levy wanted nothing from Gajeel, even though she didn’t know why.

 

That was when Jet sprung into an attack, his speed getting the best of Gajeel and then Droy joined in, using his seeds. Gajeel took the hits and Levy held her breath, waiting for the dragon slayer to strike back, but instead he waited, wincing in pain.

That was when Levy heard footsteps approaching and a voice spoke. She turned to see a tall figure, with spiky golden locks that pointed towards the sky and a long black coat with gray fur trim. It was Laxus, and he towered over Levy as he approached, walking grimly. She knew him being there, wasn’t good. He noticed who it was Jet and Droy were attacking, and immediately took interest, preaching about how Gajeel had made a Fairy Tail look weak.

Levy could see the anger building inside of Laxus, lighting was beginning to flicker off of him in terrifying flashes and jagged streaks. Before anyone could do anything his brutal onslaught on Gajeel began.

It had been hard to watch. Lightening flooded up from underneath the dragon slayer’s feet in a terrifying flash, before he even stood up, causing his deep voice to yell out in agony. His whole body shook violently, as the wild bright energy consumed him and then disappeared just as fast.

Levy looked away... She could smell him burning. Jet and Droy began to yell for him to stop, but he didn’t let up. Laxus struck again, his fist letting out a streak of lighting that rolled along the ground; again, burning Gajeel and propelling him back into the dirt. Levy could feel tears in her eyes and just like her, Jet and Droy at this point, had realized that Gajeel was not fighting back.

He hadn’t been the whole time, nor did he try and defend himself, he just took it all, every excruciating hit. Now he was just a heap in the dirt, but Laxus was still bursting with magical energy and anger. He stepped up towards Gajeel and began to stomp and kick him without mercy, shouting as he did so.

The fact that Gejeel did nothing to stop him, just made it cruel and needless. It was cringingly painful for even the members of Team Shadow Gear to watch. Jet finally demanded for Laxus to stop…. But Laxus wasn’t one to be told what to do, and the fact that Jet had shouted at him, just made him shift his anger from Gajeel to the speed mage. He whipped around, taking no time to aim and let lose a jagged streak of powerful glowing lightening and it made a straight line right between the dumbstruck Jet and Droy, right towards Levy.

Levy could not do anything to stop it or protect herself, other than to lift her arms up, to prepare for the blow. All she could think was, _will this kill me?_ There was no time to process, no warning.  She could only wait, wait for the pain, but once the dust had settled there was silence and she realized she was still standing. She let her arms fall away from her face and all she had been able to utter out was.

“Gajeel?!”

He was there, in front of her, with an iron arm out and Laxus’s lightening still burning and sizzling on it. He had taken her blow; she didn’t even know how he had managed to get to her in time. Why had he done it? How had he done it? She saw his back, his clothes now all scorched with tears in the fabric. His dark skin was ashen and tinted red from burns, smoke was still drifting slightly off of his body. He looked about ready to fall over, clearly in pain. She was still so shocked she couldn’t even speak. It was as if her brain couldn’t seem to catch up with what had just happened.

After seeing what Gajeel had done, Laxus’s anger seemed to have subsided. The lightening mage didn’t even look regretful though, and nobody said anything until Gajeel finally spoke, his voice coming in a weary groan.

“Are you finished yet? I have work to do…” He sounded like he was in a lot of pain, but he didn’t fall, even though his body quaked. No, instead the stubborn dragon slayer began to limp away from them, as they gawked at him.

Levy felt her heart wrench as she watched him go. _Words! Say words!_ Her inner voice was screaming. _Don’t let him walk away like that, without saying anything! Levy! That man just saved you!_ And then she found her voice and she called out to him unsure, but she heard his gruff voice cut her off. He told her to ‘leave him alone.’ And for some reason she felt sadness seep into her with his response and that had been the end of it. After that Levy hadn’t seen Gajeel for the rest of the day, nor did she see Laxus after he had stalked off without another word.

* * *

Levy stood there squeezing her bag tightly, the memories causing her breathing to heavy and her body to shiver. It had been traumatic, watching Gajeel take that beating and then take a hit meant for her… She could feel tears welling up, but she didn’t let them shed.

Maybe she was supposed to feel good about what had happened, maybe it was karma’s way of catching up to Gajeel. And of course, it would only be appropriate that she should watch it happen. Watch him receive his just punishment, for all that he had done.

Levy could feel the coldness of those thoughts chilling her to the bone, she didn’t’ believe them. It had been horrifying and cruel. She had already pitied Gajeel, despite herself not wanting too. She hadn’t wanted anything more or less from him, she had just wanted him to leave her be. And it seemed as if that was what he had actually intended to do as well, from his words, but now… 

Maybe it should have been hard for her to admit it, but it wasn’t. She let herself be honest and she could feel a slight agony in her heart. She was worried about him… She hadn’t wanted to see him hurt, she hadn’t wanted Jet and Droy to go after him. She hadn’t even wanted him to save her, but he had. She understood that Gajeel had wanted to let them beat him up and that he hadn’t fought back, because he had felt like he deserved their revenge. Not only that, but he had wanted to be viewed, as a member of the guild. This was his way of trying to be accepted.

Levy felt the tear she hadn’t been able to keep back, stream down her cheek. Her arms finally eased up on her bag and her small tense frame began to relax slightly. She brought a hand up to her cheek and wiped away her own tear. _That’s all you’ll get from me Gajeel Redfox, one tear_ … _I think I understand you a little bit better now..._ She thought and for some reason, a weak smile graced her lips _. You want to be one of us… I wish you would have let me say thank you_ …

Just then the streetlights came on around her, causing Levy to jump slightly. She looked up at them and then at the sky, it was getting a lot darker. She looked at the path ahead, thinking about how she needed to hurry back, but it was hard to get her thoughts off of Gajeel for even a single moment.

She began to walk again, thinking about him and how he had been throughout that whole crazy day. From the first moment when he had walked into the guild and seen her, to how Juvia had then defended him. How he had acted with Mira and then with Natsu… And then the singing… How could she possibly forget about that?! She found herself laughing slightly, despite herself, as she remembered it.

The other sides of him, had shown themselves, despite his best efforts to hide them. She remembered the fight that had broken out at the guild and how he had been part of it, already seeming to be one of them. Then he had saved her… Even after her teammates had attacked him.

Levy felt her eyes glaze over with water once again, out of how awful it had been to witness, but she still held to the tiny remnants of her smile. She pushed that part of the day out of her mind, once and for all. She had quite honestly, thought about that enough for one night and she refused to let anymore tears fall. Staying true to the promise she had made to him and to herself, about just letting it only be the one tear.

Instead of crying Levy let her smile grow, because she could feel a small amount of warmth coming from Gajeel, after he had saved her. It wouldn’t be so hard for her to keep her word to Master Makarov now, because the next time she saw him… She knew she wouldn’t be afraid. She would just remember that warmth. What reason could she possibly have, to fear a fellow member of Fairy Tail?

Levy’s smile grew into a full out grin at the thought, as Fairyhills finally came into her line of vision. She continued on, knowing full well that she had officially accepted Gajeel as just another person of her dysfunctional family.


	11. Natsu Dragneel

**Iron Gray Chapter 11 Natsu Dragneel**

It was well past the midnight hour when Gajeel unlocked the door to his new barren apartment. It was nothing special, off white walls, wooden floors, one-bedroom, small kitchen and tiny bathroom. He had just signed the lease papers that morning, before going to the guild and he hadn't even made time to actually look at it. This was his first time being inside. He had, had just enough money left over from the payment Master Makarov had given him, to afford the security deposit and the first month's rent to move in.

Unfortunately, he had nothing to put in it yet, with the exception of his clothes. All of his money was spent, until his next payment, but he didn't really care. All he had wanted was a place he could get on short notice. One that wasn't too expensive and also wasn't too far from the guild and he had gotten all of that.

It was an aging building and the floors creaked loudly as he stepped inside with his large black boots, a small brown duffle bag full of his clothes hanging over his shoulder. He glanced around, it didn't look to be in perfect condition, but at least it was decently clean, he didn't need much anyways.

Gajeel didn't even bother to turn on the lights; instead he just walked right into the bathroom. It was there that he finally switched on the light, illuminating the tiny room before throwing his bag on top of the closed toilet and turning his body to face the mirror that hung over the sink.

It was the first time he had noticed how scorched his clothes actually were, not that it mattered all that much, but he had been wearing them like that all day. He began to slip the burned shirt off, over his head and let it fall to the ground without a second thought. He stood before the mirror now, his red eyes searching over his bare torso, surveying the damage he had gotten from the attack that day. There were some nasty singe marks and a couple of larger burns, but they didn't look to be too bad considering he had let them go all day, without cleaning them.

He sent himself a glare in the mirror,  _damn lightning bastard_. He thought as he remembered his run in with Laxus earlier that day.  _You just wait… I'll return the favor_. He smirked at the thought of someday getting his revenge, but his face faded to a scowl the more he thought about the events of that day.  _What was with that guy? He almost fried the shrimp…_  Gajeel's eyes widened and he looked away from his reflection, discomfort gracing his features due to the odd thought.

Shrimp? Where had that come from? Gajeel often dawned people with nicknames. Most of the time he did it, because he didn't want to bother learning the person's actual name, but he definitely knew hers. It felt kind of strange giving Levy one of his nicknames, seeing as he had planned on avoiding her as much as possible. That would mean there would never be any reason to ever address her, or use the word he had chosen for her. Yet at the same time, it had just floated into his mind so naturally. With no effort or thought on his part and it felt somewhat befitting of her. Gajeel found he couldn't help, but like it for some reason.

His mind drifted back to the question at hand, trying to get the odd title for Levy out of his head. Wasn't Laxus, Makarov's grandson and one of Fairy Tail's S-class wizards? Why would he have done that? Gajeel had already seen that the Fairy's, often sparred and fought with one another, but that blast he had thrown at her was not on par with the normal shenanigans of the guild. It was on a much higher scale and she would have been seriously hurt, if he hadn't of stepped in, when he did. As far as Gajeel was concerned, Laxus had come across as someone who was very powerful and liked to throw that power around.

He could feel his jaw beginning to clench, Levy hadn't been involved though… Hell she was the  _only_ wizard that hadn't been involved in that fight, because she had chosen to stay out of it, so the fact that she had been the one to almost eat that lightning, irked him.

Gajeel's eyes shifted back up to his reflection, his jaw was still clenched angrily, but then it relaxed. He was beginning to realize that he had no right to be as upset towards Laxus, as he was. After what he had done to her himself… How was he any different than Laxus, except in his case he had actually succeeded in hurting her?

Gajeel's fierce red eyes matched the red of his own reflection, his face grew determined as he stared at himself in the mirror and his chest heaved heavily.  _But I wasn't a member of her guild back then..._  He then thought, and that was it.

He wasn't excusing himself, but it was simple for him. It was the reason why he had saved her. She was his comrade now and that meant protecting her if he was capable, even against other guild mates if necessary.

Gajeel had noticed that Levy hadn't wanted to take revenge on him, like her teammates had; and that had been the only thing he could think of, to give back for what he had done to them. He had suspected her of being too afraid to take part in the attack, because why else? He couldn't seem to fathom any other reason in his thick skull, as to why she wouldn't have wanted to hurt him back, if given the chance. He knew saving her didn't amend for what he had done, but at least now he could keep her from getting hurt again by someone else's hand.

Gajeel scowled again and shook his head, at all of the thinking he had been doing. He looked away from the mirror and kicked off his heavy boots. He then sat down on the edge of the tub with his feet inside of it. He picked up the soap and began to run the water, allowing it to get warm first. He cleaned his hands and then lathered them up again and slowly began to clean the wounds on his torso and arms. His jaw clenched again from the pain, but he knew he needed to do this, so he just ignored it as he worked.

He found his thoughts drifting back to Levy again, as he began to watch the water flow out from under his feet. Despite the pain he had been in, he remembered feeling relieved that he had managed to get to her in time. He paused and stared at the rushing water coming out of the faucet, trying to understand something.

Why was she invading his thoughts so much? Was it just the guilt, still bothering him? She hadn't been the only person he hurt, but she was the one that kept clouding his head.

His eyes were still trained on the serene flowing water and the sound it made calmed him, but it also made him realize how exhausted he actually was. He had, had a long busy day and he needed to sleep, really sleep. He was hoping this night he would be able to, unlike the night before, but of course tonight he didn't have a bed to sleep in.

Gajeel had finally finished cleaning his burn wounds and he brought a hand to his forehead running it through his hair. He stood up suddenly, kicking the faucet off before stalking away, not bothering to dry himself at all. He walked into the empty bedroom turning the light off behind him. He let himself sit down, up against the wall with his knees propped up and his arms resting on them. He let his head fall back lazily. He was so beat, but at least after everything, he had succeeded in finding Master Ivan already.

Gajeel's lips curled up a little, as he remembered the 'fun' he had, had while trying to find the mage guild leader in question. He could feel his eyes blinking consecutively until they finally began to stay shut. His face was still holding to the tiny smirk over his lips, as his head faced the ceiling while he began to doze off.

An image with a bright flash and then Levy's face appeared for the second night in a row, in his dreams. This time though she didn't appear hurt, but she did look scared. Her expression was full of shock, her eyes teary. She appeared to look just as he had seen her that day.  _At least she's all right_ , his voice echoed whilst he dreamed. His smile grew a little more and he finally got the peaceful nights rest he had been waiting for, even without the bed.

* * *

It was morning when Lucy awoke with a moan, realizing she felt very uncomfortable. She rolled over stiffly and rose up slowly, while rubbing her eye, which was still wet from the moister of sleep.

"What… Where am I?" She mumbled to herself, straining her brain to operate through her sleepiness. She realized she was in her apartment still, but not her bed… No wonder she had felt so stiff! She was lying on the floor right next to her bed, bundled up in a blanket. She looked around groggily, "Why am I… on the-" She looked over to her bed and became fueled with so much annoyance, that it woke her up completely. From her spot on the floor she could just make out a spiky salmon colored head on top of her bed, with a white scaly looking scarf hanging off the edge of it.

Lucy jumped to her feet letting her blanket fall away. She looked down upon the sleeping dragon slayer with utter disbelief as he slept peacefully; blissfully unaware of the trouble he was in.

"NATSU!" She screeched at the top of her lungs, causing Natsu to stir only slightly. He opened one onyx colored eye and looked at her lazily and let out a slight sigh.

"Oh morning…" He replied, but then he just closed his eyes again, with a sleepy smile as though he was having a good dream.

"Don't give me that! Why didn't you go home last night?!" Lucy screamed again, angrily pointing her finger accusingly as she did so, but Natsu hardly budged. The pure volume of Lucy's furious shouting, would probably have terrified most people or at least startled them, but Natsu had become completely accustomed to it. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" She shouted, becoming red in the face with frustration.

"Can you keep it down..?" Came Natsu's muffled voice, as his face was buried in Lucy's pillow. Lucy just stared at him incredulously not even knowing what to say at the moment. "I'm just so sleepy… " He moaned out more clearly, as he shifted his head, his eyes were closed still. Lucy folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"I had to sleep on the floor, because of you, I'll have you know!" She stated not quite as enraged, but still loudly. He opened his eyes again and glanced up at her finally, and Lucy took her chance. "I should have sent you home with Happy." She stated looking away from him with a stubborn expression.

Natsu rose up and sat Indian style with his hands resting on his knees. He turned to face Lucy slightly taking her in with a long blank stare. Lucy felt his eyes on her and tried to ignore him, but she started to become self-conscious under his unnecessarily long gaze. She could never tell what he was thinking whenever he looked at her that way, despite how well she knew Natsu. She still could never predict what he would say next.

"What!? Why are you looking at me like that!?" She shouted finally, as she turned back to him unnerved. Natsu just flashed her his most heartwarming smile and his eyes closed happily.

"Thanks for letting me sleep here in your bed, Lucy! I felt pretty sick last night." He laughed lightly and Lucy just blushed and looked away from him. She turned away from him folding her arms.

"Yea well… I'm going to get ready and head to the guild now. I want to eat breakfast there. Happy is probably wondering where you are, so don't you think you should go home?" She waited for his reply, but heard nothing. "Natsu…?" she turned back around to look at him and he had laid back down on his back, sprawled out on her bed once more, already snoring quietly. She clenched a fist angrily as she watched him, "He's already… asleep?!" She growled, her sentence ending loudly.

She watched him for a moment and he turned over suddenly on his side and his body began to grow tense, his face scrunched and he winced in his sleep. Lucy's anger melted away as she watched him, it slowly fading into slight worry. Her expression eased up into a sympathetic glance at the dragon slayer.  _He still is not feeling good? How long is this going to last? Poor guy._

Lucy took a few steps towards him on the bed and thought for a moment. Maybe she should just let him sleep a little longer; it wasn't as if they were going to have time to fit in a job before the Fantasia parade anyways. Plus, she had to figure out what she was going to do for the Miss Fairy Tail contest Happy had told her about the night before. She was kind of counting on that money to pay for the rent that month. She didn't want to push him out of bed, if he was still feeling sick. She felt bad, wanting nothing more than for Natsu to be himself again.

She stood there a moment contemplating it, but her mind was already made up. She'd leave him there, for the time being at least, and just make her way to the guild. It wasn't as if Natsu wasn't already there all of the time, when she wasn't anyways.

Lucy rolled her eyes at the thought. No in fact, he was there quite often when she wasn't, despite her constant yelling at him about it. She turned away and began to go about getting ready for the day, allowing the ill dragon slayer more peace, as he slept.


	12. Resolve

**Iron Gray Chapter 12 Resolve**

After about twenty minutes Lucy was ready to go. She paused with the door open about to step out, but took one more glance at Natsu sleeping on her bed. She smiled weakly at him despite herself.  _Just get better already okay… Then I can kick you out_. She thought and then she shut the door behind her and let out a breath, before taking off out the building.

As Lucy walked about that morning she couldn't help, but notice how all of Magnolia seemed to be busy. People were seemingly running about, all over town and everyone seemed in high spirits. Clearly excited about Fantasia, Fairy Tail's annual festival. Stands were popping up everywhere and the sound of hammers could be heard from every corner, as people went to work.

Lucy smiled to herself; she was pretty excited about it as well, seeing as she had never gotten to be a part of it. It was something she had always dreamed of, before joining the guild. She allowed herself to daydream about what it would be like and she became so absorbed as she walked, that she hardly heard a voice call out to her.

"Lucy?! Lucy, wait up!" It took a moment, but Lucy finally heard the call and looked behind her to see a small blue haired figure bound up excitedly. It was Levy; she had also been on her way to the guild. Lucy turned with a wave and greeted her with a smile.

"Hey Levy!"

Levy had a wide grin on her face and for some reason; she seemed to be in even higher spirits than everybody else. She was practically aglow with excitement; Lucy couldn't help, but notice.

"Isn't this great?!" She cheered glancing around, allowing her gold eyes to land back on Lucy. "The Fantasia parade is so much fun! I am happy you will get to be a part of it with us, this year Lucy!" She exclaimed, Lucy just giggled at her enthusiasm.

"Yea, I can't wait either." Lucy replied and Levy clasped her hands behind her back and looked at her expectantly, still with the same smile.

"So, are you going to be in the Miss Fairy Tail contest?" She asked and Lucy felt herself becoming a bit embarrassed, as she felt like she didn't have a chance at winning. She put her Fairy Tail insignia hand up to her red face.

"Yea… Actually, I was. I could really use the money, but I feel like Mira will probably win." She replied half-heartedly. At this point the two had begun to walk side by side, in step with each other. Levy just waved her off,

"Mira does win most of the time, but that doesn't mean somebody else can't. It never stopped me from entering in the past! You should do it, it's fun! It's a good way to show off your magic." She replied with a finger up and Lucy just gaped at her.

"I didn't know you were going to be in it, too! More competition…" Lucy sighed hopelessly and Levy just smiled at her sympathetically, reaching over with a hand patting her shoulder lightly.

"You'll be great, you're part of Fairy Tail's strongest team!"

"How's that going to help me with this?!" Lucy moaned and Levy just giggled at her. The two of them began to chatter about what they would do for the contest to show off their magic abilities. Lucy was still trying to figure it out, whereas Levy had already decided and seemed quite content and unworried about it.

In fact, Lucy could not help, but notice that Levy's positive energy levels were off of the charts this morning. For some reason the small script mage couldn't seemed to stop smiling, but it wasn't as though Levy wasn't normally upbeat. She had that kind of personality, so why wouldn't the festival make her even more so?

Still… For some reason Lucy found herself suspicious again, just like she had been the day before. Levy had acted strange the other day, when she had stalked off with Droy. Not only that, but Lucy hadn't seen her at the guild after that, or any of the members of Team Shadow Gear for the rest of the night. Now though, Levy seemed like she had forgotten all about whatever it was, that had happened and was instead acting as if she were floating on some kind of happy cloud.

It was kind of weird; and Lucy couldn't help, but be bothered by it. Normally Lucy felt like Levy would have told her what was going on, but the fact that she hadn't? It brought up another question as well, normally Jet and Droy would be accompanying her to the guild. Those two were like two lost puppies when it came to Levy. They would wait for her outside of Fairyhills almost every morning, unless they found out she had left before they woke up, but yet here she was, normal time and neither one of them were with her. Lucy just had to know if there was something up, or if she was just over thinking it all.

"Say, can I ask you something?" Lucy finally asked, after the two had taken a brief break in their conversation. Levy glanced over still smiling, Lucy kind of wondered if Levy's face was beginning to hurt from it.

"You just did!" Levy replied jokingly and Lucy just sent her smartass friend a very pointed look in response. Levy's smile didn't falter one bit though; in fact, it just grew a little more. "Okay shoot!" She then responded

"Where are Jet and Droy? They never miss a chance to walk to the guild with you, in the morning?" At that, Levy's smile did finally seem to weaken, her face grew a little uneasy as they walked.

"Well… They don't always walk with me. Just most of the time. Besides, they both just needed a little… Space, I guess." Levy replied cautiously and Lucy looked perplexed at the response. There just had to be more to the story, Levy wasn't a very good liar. Lucy started slow, in her, I'm-not-buying-that-voice.

"Alright well… Can you tell me what the heck happened the other day?" Levy's smile completely disappeared at that question and now she pretended to look perplexed as Lucy had.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on Levy! Don't play dumb! You know what I'm talking about! The way you and Droy left the other day. It was weird! Something's up. Did you three get into a fight or something?" Levy stopped walking and glanced at Lucy with her mouth open, her eyes were big with surprise. Lucy stopped and turned to her shorter friend, looking expectantly. Had she gotten it right?

 _How does Lucy know about the fight with Gajeel?_  Levy's thoughts questioned. Lucy just stared at her still waiting, but then she couldn't seem to hold the suspense and so the charade began.

"Are you going to tell me or what? Are those two mad at you or something? What, did they figure out you've got a crush on someone? Oh, I bet that's what it is, isn't it?! They are probably just heartbroken! They are both probably at home right now nursing their wounds, am I right? By the way, you better be ready to tell me who it is! You're not getting out of it, this time."

Levy just blinked at all of the crazy questions and chattering Lucy had just done. Lucy really did talk a lot, at times. She wasn't even sure where to start when Lucy's mouth finally did shut. Lucy had turned away from her and rested her hands on her hips triumphantly.

"Yep, I'm sure I got it! I'm so good at this!" The blond praised herself with confidence. "Well, come on Levy, get to talking." Levy paused still trying to regain her composure.

 _Crush? Again, with that? Why does everyone seem to think that, that's what this is about?_ Levy shook her head and paused awkwardly before answering.

"Uh… no." Was all she said and Lucy's posture stiffened at hearing the response. She turned back to face Levy with a shocked expression.

"No to what, exactly?!" Lucy asked confused. She was sure everything she had just said was dead on, but she had asked a lot of questions. Levy just laughed weakly at her.

"All of it…?" She said almost doubting herself. It was as if Lucy had asked so many questions, that at least one of them should have been right. Lucy just looked at her distressed, as if ready to pull her hair out.

"Well then what the heck, Levy?!" Levy just continued to laugh nervously at Lucy. She wasn't sure she should say anything, but she could tell Lucy wasn't going to let it go either. She tried to make her forget anyways.

"Hey look, I can see the guild!" Levy yelled, pointing and she began to step ahead. "We're almost there! We better get going!" She laughed looking back at Lucy and then jogging off.

Lucy marched towards the small script mage, easily catching up with her larger strides and she took hold of Levy's hand. Levy squeaked in alarm, as she hadn't seen Lucy coming and Lucy turned her, so that her brown eyes could take in Levy's face. Levy avoided looking back at her though and instead looked towards the ground. It was really surreal to see Levy act in such a way, and Lucy was growing concerned at this point.

"Don't change the subject!? What is with you!? I've never seen you avoid something like this." Lucy stated bewildered by Levy's odd behavior, but Levy said nothing. Lucy's stare hardened on the smaller girl and Levy slowly brought her eyes up to Lucy's. Levy's eyebrows were mangled and her face looked a little worried now and Lucy could tell she was going to break.

"Look you don't need to worry. Everything is going to be fine now." Levy said quietly, looking away again.

"Now?" Lucy asked puzzled. "What happen to begin with?"

Levy let out a breath and her face began to take on its own hard expression, and she matched Lucy's eyes again. She hated admitting her fears, it made her feel weak and she didn't want to go through it all again. But she trusted Lucy; she considered the celestial mage to be her best girlfriend.

"First off Gajeel joined the guild, but you already know about that." Levy's voice sounded hard as though she were trying to keep it, intact. She sounded almost business-like, trying not to portray any emotion; she was tired of getting upset. She looked away from Lucy, thinking to herself.

Lucy looked at her with wide shining eyes, realizing how hard that must have actually been on Levy. She felt it too, she was also afraid of the iron dragon slayer. Levy had tried to act tough, but had actually seemed quite scared. Lucy had managed to keep her composure a little better, just because she didn't feel as in danger, with Natsu, Gray and Erza around.

"Oh, Levy, I'm sorry! I should have thought about that more…" Levy just held up a hand sternly, before Lucy could continue though. Lucy looked confused again, but she stayed quiet.

"It's okay Lucy. I don't want people worrying about me." Her tone still sounded even and business like. "But I was scared of him." She added and her eyes didn't look at Lucy this time, instead she looked off in front of them as though her mind was somewhere else.

"I understand that… Nobody could blame you." Was all Lucy could seem to say, but then Levy looked at her again and her face looked grimly serious.

"Yea well, Jet and Droy went after him yesterday." Lucy's eyes widened and she got a slight chill, as she looked into Levy's stern glare.

"What?! Are they okay? Are you?" Lucy's voice was soaked in panic. Levy just shook her head.

"They didn't get hurt and I stayed out of it, but I was there." Lucy looked at her still shocked, but a little more relieved than she had been, seconds before.

"Wow, at least none of you got hurt, thankfully." It was at these words though, Lucy noticed Levy start to become visibly shaken. The small girl's arms curled up and seemed to grip over her own elbows tightly. Her stare hardened and Lucy could swear, tears had started to gather in her amber eyes. "Levy…?"

"They didn't get hurt… But someone did." She answered, trying not to let her voice crack as the memory of Gajeel getting blasted came back to her. Lucy watched her friend with somber eyes. Her reactions were worrying the blond greatly and so she put a hand on Levy's shoulder and she could feel the small girl shake a little.

"What is it?" Lucy spoke, her voice sounding sympathetic and caring. Levy was trying to keep herself from getting upset, but it was almost as if every time she remembered it, it was harder not to cry.  _No, I promised! No more tears_! She thought desperately and she took a shaky breath to keep her strength, before beginning.

"Laxus… was there. He showed up, while Jet and Droy were…" Her words were coming out slow, as if she was trying to keep the dam from breaking whilst she relived it all at once again. "They had been attacking Gajeel and he let them do it… And then Laxus showed up and took over…" She looked up at Lucy with teary eyes, her hands resting over the blend's shoulders now, as if to help keep herself up. "Gajeel did nothing to stop it and Laxus just kept hitting him over and over..." Her voice was beginning to crack and she looked completely distraught. Her face had become pale. "Lucy, it was so hard to watch! Jet tried to tell him to stop… But that just made him shoot a blast in our direction. It was going to hit me. I couldn't do anything!" The volume of her voice was raising, she was clearly upset by the memory. "But then… Gajeel saved me…" Levy finished getting quieter again and looking away from Lucy. Her lips had curved up into the tiniest of smiles, but her eyes were still tear ridden. "He took a hit for me… Even after he had already been attacked by Jet and Droy, and burned by Laxus's lightning and then kicked around some more..."

Lucy's eyes were wide with shock and wonder at Levy's words. It was hard for her to believe that the iron dragon slayer would do that, but she knew Levy wouldn't lie either.

"Levy… I'm so glad you didn't get hurt, but why would he do that?" She asked not being able to hide her shock.

Levy straightened up a little, taking her hands off of Lucy as she began to wipe away at the water from her glossy eyes, before the tears could shed. Then she glanced up at Lucy with a sweet knowing smile, but her eyes still looked sad.

"Because he is a Fairy Tail wizard, now." Lucy stared at Levy trying to understand the small girl's resolve. It was almost too simple; it felt as though things should be more complicated than that.

"Levy are you…?" But Lucy couldn't even get the question out, once she got a look at the happy expression over Levy's face. It seemed to answer any and all questions, she could ever think of asking.

Levy's smile looked peaceful and her whole face seemed to have lightened up, as it had been before they had begun their talk. Lucy couldn't seem to help, but smile back, as if it was somehow contagious. Levy laughed lightly at her, as though she didn't have a care in the world.

"You ready to get to the guild?" Levy asked and Lucy just nodded.

"Yea come on, let's go!" Lucy replied and she began to jog ahead leaving Levy behind in her dust.

"Oh, hey wait!" Levy cried after her, but her smile never faltered.


	13. The She Devil

**Iron Gray Chapter 13 The She Devil**

It only took about another five minutes before the two girls finally arrived at the guild. As they stepped inside, Levy found herself glancing around as though she was looking for something and Lucy couldn't help, but notice.

"You looking for Jet and Droy?" She asked curiously and Levy stopped herself and glanced at Lucy blankly.

She  _wasn't_  looking for them; she knew they weren't going to be in until later, because they felt guilty about what had happened the day before. She hadn't realized it, but she had been obviously looking around to see if a certain iron dragon slayer was there. She felt herself blush a little embarrassed for not only figuring it out, but for being caught as well. She was still concerned about him, after what had happened the day prior and she had hoped he would be there. She had wanted to see that he was okay, with her own eyes. Levy just shook her head at Lucy, making the blond narrow her eyes.

"Okay…." Lucy sighed and then the two of them walked up to the bar and took their seats. After a few minutes Mira stepped up to them with a bright smile.

"Good morning girls! The usual?" They both greeted her with smiles and Levy had already begun to pull out a book from her bag.

"No thanks Mira I'm actually not hungry." Levy replied. Her stomach felt like it was in knots for some reason. She was still in a good mood despite the feeling, but food just wasn't sounding to appetizing at the moment. Lucy just looked at her oddly and then looked back at Mira.

"Well I am, sounds good to me." Lucy responded and Mira laughed lightly at the blond.

"Coming right up!" The flaxen haired barmaid walked away, leaving the two of them alone and Levy had already started reading her book, causing Lucy to sigh out forlornly. They sat in silence for about ten minutes, Levy completely absorbed in her book already and Lucy a bit bored. Lucy wondered why Levy had chosen to skip breakfast and wondered if it had anything to do with what they had talked about.

"How come you aren't hungry?" Lucy finally decided to ask. Levy looked up at her with a vague face.

"Sorry, what?" Lucy shook her head with a hopeless look at Levy's lack of attention to her.

"Why don't you want to eat?" Lucy asked again, annunciating more. "You sure you're okay after everything…?" It was right then, that Mira happened to come back with Lucy's plate and overheard Lucy's question to the blue haired mage. She couldn't help herself; she had made it her own private obligation to know everyone's business.

"What are you two talking about?!" Mira asked excitedly, with her normal happy smile. Both Levy and Lucy flashed her the deer in the headlights look, but they tried to hide it quickly.

"Oh, it's nothing!" Lucy quipped first.

"Yea, don't worry about it, Mira." Levy added, but Mira just seemed more interested now. She let her elbows fall on the bar and rested her head in her hands, still smiling, with a giggle at their reactions.

"You two are terrible liars, you know." Levy and Lucy both just laughed at Mira nervously.

Levy considered Mira for a moment after she laughed, thinking about how the transformation mage had helped her the other day. She didn't want to have to retell the story again, especially when it had made her emotional. Mira might know something though… If anyone did, it would have been her. She wanted to be sure Gajeel was okay. Was there a subtle way to ask such a question, though? She could feel herself inwardly sighing as she knew there wasn't, but she didn't know if he was going to show up at the guild. What could she do? Just wait all day? What if he never showed up? Then she'd be left wondering another night, the thought was giving her anxiety. Her face started to heat up a little, as she remembered how much she had worried about him while trying to sleep.  _Maybe I'm thinking about this a little too much?_  But then Levy's facial expression hardened at her own question.

 _No. He saved me and he got hurt… I am worried_.

Her mind made up, Levy finally glanced up at Mira with a more serious stare catching the two other girls' attention. Mira's smile vanished and she looked at Levy curiously, as she waited for her to speak.

"Mira, have you seen Gajeel today?" Mira raised up at the question, caught off guard and Lucy completely flipped out.

"Levy?! I thought you wanted to be discreet about this?!" Lucy shouted, causing Levy to glance at her with a determined look on face.

"I want to know this, more." Was all she said simply and Mira just watched the exchange with a pondering look. Lucy glanced away from her stubborn friend and back down to her food instead.

"Well cats out of the bag now… It's your funeral. No offense Mira." She stated, before taking a bite of her toast. Mira just smiled at Lucy brightly.

"None taken, Lucy!" Then she turned her attention back to Levy who still looked determined. She could see that for whatever reason, the answer to this question was going to be important…  _But why_? Was it a matter of avoiding him? She wasn't sure what to think, after Lucy's comments and not to mention what her and Levy had talked about involving him already. She had noticed though, that Levy had still seemed visibly shaken by the sight of him, the day before.

"He hasn't been in yet, today. Honestly, I haven't seen him since the fight broke out during his performance. He got started on a job almost immediately and I think that's probably what he's doing. He needs the money as you know, and so I can't imagine he will be around much." Mira explained cheerfully.

What the transformation mage wasn't expecting was for Levy's face to become completely disheartened by the news, but that was what happened. Mira's brow furrowed at the reaction. She had expected Levy to be relieved by the news, since she had appeared so afraid of him the day before.

What was going on here? She wanted to ask, but she wasn't sure if she should, by the way Levy was acting. She was afraid it might upset her.

Levy couldn't seem to help the disappointment that seeped into her at what Mira said. She had really hoped Mira would know something about how he was doing, but without having to explain it all. Now Mira had made it sound like he wouldn't be around all day… She would now have to wait to find out how he was doing and so, she would still be worried… She felt herself wishing she could just go back in time and stop Jet and Droy from ever bringing Gajeel out that day, for their little ambush. She looked back up at Mira and tried to mask her worry, but failed miserably.

"Yea okay, right. Thanks Mira." Levy replied, looking off and sounding distant. Mira glanced at Lucy as if expecting her to have an answer for Levy's off-putting behavior. Lucy's eyes were looking up towards the ceiling, clearly avoiding Mira's stare and she just shrugged her shoulders innocently, without even looking at the barmaid. Mira's eyebrow rose at Lucy, but then Levy stood up making them both look at her again. She picked up her book to drop it in her bag and glanced back up at the both of them, apologetically. She appeared a bit down now, especially compared to how she had been on their way to the guild.

"I think I'm going to head to the library and just read for a while." Lucy just nodded at Levy sympathetically, seeing as her bright mood had vanished and she looked a little depressed. She knew if that were the case, then reading was the one thing that could distract Levy from anything that was bugging her and so she understood.

"Yea sure, no problem, Levy. Maybe I'll join you later." Lucy replied lightly. Levy smiled at Lucy in return with a nod and then she turned to Mira.

"By the way, I don't know if anybody has mentioned it yet, but Laxus is back in town." Mira took in her appearance with curiosity. Not understanding where the information had come from, but again she had already decided not to ask Levy about it. Nope, she had a different person in mind, for the unavoidable interrogation.

"Oh! Thanks for telling me, the Master might want to know that." Mira said softly. Levy nodded at Mira and then she waved to the two women and walked away leaving them to watch her go.

Mira made sure to wait until Levy was out of sight, before turning to Lucy with such an evil grin, that Lucy could swear her eyes were glowing a vibrant red. Lucy immediately became fearful of the sweet barmaid and she could feel herself sweating under the stare.

"So Lucy… You want to tell me what's up, with our little Levy and explain to me why she would ask about a certain iron dragon slayer?! Not to mention her bringing up, Laxus?!" Lucy's eyes had become huge and she swallowed hard. Mira was too good at this. The blond knew that holding out on a woman, who was once called the She Devil was not a good idea.

* * *

Levy walked into the guild's small library and glanced around, it was completely abandoned at the moment, which pleased her. She let out a long sigh and brought a dainty hand to her forehead. She traced the line of her temple delicately; she could feel the tension that had built up in her head. She massaged it with her fingers for a moment and then she squinted her eyes and let her head lower.

She had been in such a good mood that morning, because she no longer had to carry the weight of all of her fear towards Gajeel, over her shoulders. Now though, a new concern had just settled in its place, leaving her mind to feel heavy with stress once again. The worst part was, that there was nothing she could do about it.

She could feel her stomach twitching from the slight anxiety inside of her.  _Calm down... If he was really hurt that badly, then he wouldn't be able to work and he is working so…_  She attempted to console her ailing mind with these thoughts, but then the image of how Gajeel had looked, when he limped away would play over again in her head.

She snapped her head back up and a slight chill ran down her spine, as she remembered the smell. She really wished there was a way, she could make herself forget what she had seen, but the memory was still fresh and ready to taunt her mind all day if need be. She closed her eyes and paused in an attempt to calm herself and let the memories fade. When she opened them again, she headed to one of the library's big and comfortable armchairs.

She had wanted to be alone and to sit more comfortably, that was why she had decided to take her reading into the library. She let herself plop down into the chair; she bounced a little as she landed on it. It was big enough for two or possibly even three people, with Levy's size to sit in it. It felt like the cushion was going to engulf her, as she let her back lean into it and so she straightened up, and leaned on the large arm of it. She set her bag next to her in the chair, since there was more than enough room. She took out her book and curled her legs underneath herself as she opened the book on her lap. She began to read, forcing away all of the bad thoughts and memories that had threatened to keep haunting her. Within a few minutes her mind was at peace, as it became preoccupied with the story she read, rather than her worries for Gajeel.

Levy kept at her reading for a solid thirty minutes before the overpowering comfort of the chair began to overtake her. She felt so warm, cozy and relaxed that she could feel her eyelids growing heavy. She had, had a hard time sleeping the night before, because her mind had been so scattered with thoughts about everything that had happened. She had tossed and turned in her bed all night trying to relax, but she had not been able to. Her restless mind going a mile a minute, but now the lack of sleep was hitting her and in a big way. She couldn't even begin to fight it.

Her arm went slack over the book on her lap allowing it to slowly slip out of her grasp. Luckily for the book Levy's now relaxed fingertips just barely held it from hanging off the edge of the chair, saving it from hitting the ground. Her back leaned into the left corner of the chair and her head hung down, allowing blue tumbling strands to hang loosely around her face. Her breathing became heavy and she began to dream, she was completely out.


	14. Catalyst

**Iron Gray Chapter 14 Catalyst**

Mira was wiping off the bar while humming to herself happily as the guild slowly came alive around her. Most of the guild members that weren't out on jobs had already arrived and were either eating breakfast or chatting, or in Cana's case, drinking. Mira's brother was there and he sat at a table with Gray and Juvia as the water mage fawned over Gray without him noticing. Lucy was still sitting at the bar, looking a bit forlorn as Mira had managed to make the blond spill everything she knew about Levy. Nab had taken up his spot by the request board early, which was quite the laugh, because there was no way  _he_  was going to fit in a job before the festival. Reedus had set up a spot in one corner of the guild, so he could attempt to paint everyone. Macao was sitting with his son Romeo while he ate his breakfast happily. Wakaba was sitting with Laki chatting with her and making Mira feel relieved, that he didn't yet have his eye on her at the moment. Bisca and Alzack were enjoying their breakfast at a table together, causing her to blush at their pure adorableness.

Mira smiled to herself as she watched them all, happily. She did notice that despite all of the faces there, the guild still felt rather quiet. Erza hadn't shown up yet, but the most obvious explanation for the peace was… No Natsu and Happy. She glanced over at Lucy knowingly, who was hanging her arms and head over the bar dramatically, already outdone from the first interrogation. Mira just continued to smile at the blond, despite her dark aura. Surly Lucy, would know where the flame dragon slayer was?

"Lucy?" Mira questioned brightly, Lucy dared to lift her head and saw Mira's bright smile with a twitch in her eye that said, 'now-what'.

"Now what?" Lucy snapped and Mira just giggled.

"Where are Natsu and Happy? I thought they'd be here eating, by now." Mira added cheerfully. At this Lucy rose up and folded her arms with a huff.

"Who am I? Their keeper?" She asked dryly. Mira just watched her steadily, still smiling brightly though… But still… Lucy could feel herself beginning to sweat, fearful that at any moment, Mirajane Strauss could do a 180 and become The She Devil once again. She did not wish to witness the evil grin that craved gossip and the red glowing eyes, that hid mastermind schemes behind them, for a second time that morning. So, she did the only thing she could think of, she begged. "No please Mira! Haven't you gotten enough out of me for one day!?" Lucy begged, practically crying. She already felt bad enough for telling Levy's story, without her knowing.

Mira just looked at her surprised, she did not seem to understand why Lucy was so afraid. She was about to ask the blond another question, when the guild doors opened, catching her attention. Lucy looked too, both of them wondering if it was the dragon slayer in question. It wasn't Natsu. No instead it was the  _other_  dragon slayer, that their previous conversation had centered on.

Gajeel stepped inside of the guild, his black boots thudding loudly enough to get a good portion of the member's attention. He paused and glanced around with just his red eyes, his body not moving in the slightest. Once again, he noticed there was no sign of Salamander or Titania, but he did spot Juvia sitting over with the ice mage. He also noticed most of the members in the guild had quieted down and were staring at him like they had yesterday, either uncomfortably or annoyed. He couldn't help, but smirk at them all, just daring any of them to challenge him. Nobody budged though and he laughed inwardly, thinking,  _wouldn't it be nice if they were always this quiet._

"Look who it is. Good thing flame brain isn't here to pick a fight, while gramps is out." Gray stated calmly from his seat with his arms folded and a cool eye on the iron dragon slayer. Elfman sat across from him at the table and was looking at Gajeel from over his shoulder, clearly irritated.

"I kind of want to… With that smug face, he's making. What kind of face is that for a man to have?!" His voiced growled and then boomed out at Gray. Juvia sat beside Gray with her hands clasped together nervously in her lap. She was made pretty uncomfortable by everyone's still tense reactions, to her former Phantom guild mate. She looked from Gray to Elfman desperately.

"He's not going to cause trouble, I swear." She replied to Elfman and Gray turned to look at her fearful face, calmly.

"Don't worry, it's not like we don't get into fights around here. It happens all of the time, just so long as there isn't any true malice intent behind the fight. If what you're saying is true, then there won't be, but it's just going to take some time, before we can trust him after everything he did." At some point during his calm speech the ice mage had managed to slip out of his clothes, down to his boxers without him even realizing it. Juvia was now blushing madly at him with large blue eyes, almost forgetting the words he had said. "I'm saving my energy for a round with Natsu anyways." He added while letting his hands go up behind his head.

"Is-is that why you took your clothes off?" Juvia stuttered having a ridiculously hard time from staying conscious, as she stared at his toned and rippled bare chest and abs. Gray glanced down at himself with one eye shut and jumped slightly. Elfman face palmed at the ice mage's subconscious stripping habits.

"Come on man, will you keep it together?" Elfman groaned.

Gajeel could hear a tiny bit of the conversation from Juvia's table, but he ignored it. He finally let his eyes land on the bar and he began to step in that direction, his heavy boots thudding the ground loudly. Most of the guilds' eyes were still following him. Lucy began to get visibly nervous as Gajeel approached her and Mira at the bar. He stopped right before them, but he didn't bother to sit down. Instead he let his left arm rest on top of the bar, as he propped up his one foot, his large form leaned on top of the table with all of his weight falling into his elbow. His eyes glanced around the guild again, still clearly enjoying the frustration from his new guild mates. His eyes then landed on the nearest, Lucy.

The celestial mage's teeth were chattering and her eyes bulged out, once Gajeel made eye contact with his dark stare, urging her to glance away quickly. She stood up without a second thought and walked over to Gray's table in a stiff silence. She took a seat next to Elfman gaining a deadly stare from Juvia, but she was far too busy panicking over Gajeel, to notice the water mage's glare.  _I don't care what Levy says… He's still pretty scary_.

Gajeel finally turned away from the blond, still wearing his clearly gloating smirk and his red eyes finally landed on Mirajane, who was not intimidated in the slightest. Mira was the only one who didn't appear to be scared or overly angry, but she did send him a pointed look, that seemed to show that she wasn't at all amused either.

"Are you finished? Enjoying yourself, our we?" She asked folding her arms like a stern parent. Gajeel's smirk vanished at the words and he raised a studded brow, caught off guard. The rest of the guild was finally losing interest in the iron dragon slayer, as he spoke to Mira at the bar, continuing on with their normal routines and conversations.

"Is Makarov here? I need to talk to him." Gajeel questioned with his rough voice, completely ignoring the barmaid's questions.

Mira took a moment to look over Gajeel as he waited for her reply. She had a sudden renewed interest in him, after what Lucy had told her. She couldn't help, but let her dark blue eyes land on the forearm he had rested right in front of her, on the bar. It was wrapped in some gauze and bandages,  _there is most likely a burn there… So then, it must be true! He really did take a hit of Laxus's lightning, for Levy_. Gajeel was waiting for her still, with an arched yet pierced brow and an impatient look on his face. Finally, her dark sapphire eyes snapped back up to meet his red ones.

"No sorry, the Master is not here. He is out taking care of some of the preparations for Fantasia." She replied simply with her normal cheerful tone.

"Damn it." Gajeel cursed lowly under his breath and looked away with gritted teeth, clearly annoyed.

Gajeel had wanted to tell Makarov what he had found out about Ivan, right away. He paused there, not moving from his spot as he tried to decide what his next move would be, considering he couldn't talk to the master as he had planned on doing, just yet.

Mira took the moment to eye him over carefully, again noticing some other slight burns on his arms and shoulders. Lucy had told Mira that Levy had gotten pretty upset over the attack on Gajeel, because of how violent it had been once Laxus got involved. Gajeel seemed like he was doing okay or at least he acted like he was. Either way though, he had gotten hurt as a result, bandages as proof, but why hadn't he fought back and why had he protected Levy? Lucy had basically told Mira that Levy seemed to think, that Gajeel wanted to be accepted by the guild.

Mira glanced over the black Fairy Tail insignia on Gajeel's left shoulder. She had, had her own suspicions that there was more to the iron dragon slayer, after seeing Juvia stand up to the guild on his behalf. Surely, he wouldn't have earned a loyal friendship such as that with her, if he were as big and bad as he made himself out to be. Then there was the fact, that he had  _let_  Jet, Droy and Laxus beat him up as punishment. Mira realized that Gajeel must have held onto some sort of guilt, in order to allow that and then to save Levy at the end of it all?  _That's the most interesting part about this whole thing._

Her eyes narrowed, even if the iron dragon slayer had been as monstrous and mean as they all thought he was, that act alone proved that he was capable of change. Not only was he capable, but he may have already been starting too. Mira thought about what Levy had told her, about how Gajeel hadn't been doing well, before he joined the guild and how she had pitied him at the time. It was for that same reason why the Master had approached him about joining the guild, all in order to help him.

Mira knew firsthand how certain events in one's life could be the catalyst to change their personality drastically. She could feel a slight sadness seep into her, as she felt an ache of pain from how much she missed her youngest sibling. She had long since come to terms with Lisanna's death, but she still missed her dearly every single day. She herself had changed her whole life, after her sister's passing, because she had wanted to become a better person, so that she could honor and live properly for Lisanna.

Mira glanced back up at Gajeel's face, looking vulnerably at him, but thankfully he still wasn't looking at her. She realized then, that she may have been more like him than she had been willing to admit at first. She also used to act tough and mean, in much the same fashion as Gajeel did currently. She also used to love to pick fights, but even back then, she had, had her caring side. She had just kept it in more and only saved it for a select few, namely her brother and sister.

Gajeel seemed to have Juvia as one of his select few and… Was it possible…? Mira's head looked up in the direction of the library, as the colorful idea began to take form in her head.  _Is it possible that maybe Levy could be another one?_  Mira could feel her intuition spiking at the thought.  _Of course, it would be Levy… Gajeel will care for the one person, who has enough heart to forgive him... Who already has seen his dark side._  As much as it shouldn't have made any sense considering what Gajeel had done, Mira could suddenly see it clearly, as though it had been black and white all along, when truly it most certainly was not.

Levy was nothing like Gajeel, but that was why she was just what he needed. There was no doubt that he had noticed her, because of his guilt and even despite all of the bad he had shown within him, Levy still seemed to care about him. Mira felt as though, she was putting the pieces to a very complicated puzzle together, the more she thought about the two of them. These two could help each other a lot.

She suddenly knew she had to see it through, but at the same time she couldn't force it either. She would have to leave a lot up to fate, but from the events that had already happened, it seemed like the cogs were already beginning to turn that way. First Levy hadn't been able to hate Gajeel and he was guilt ridden. She had been afraid of him, but then he had saved her, and now she was concerned for him. It was actually quite a lot of progress in a short amount of time, considering how the two had started.

Mira was already in a dreamy daze, as though she knew it would come true. She started weighing what she knew about the both of them; they seemed like complete opposites… And yet… That was why it seemed to work in her mind. It was as if there was a special balance achieved. The two of them seemed to have strength in what the other one lacked and that was why, they would end up needing each other.

Anyone who could have heard Mira's thoughts right then, would have thought she had lost her mind for even thinking such a thing up. But Mira knew to her core, that she was right about this. She was always right about these things. She could already see how it would play out and she could hardly wait.

She was already dreaming up schemes for her new secret pairing, but then she inwardly scolded herself, for getting too carried away.  _They're not ready for anything yet, it's too soon_ …  _They haven't even really spoken yet… At least I don't think they have…_ She pouted to herself, but then a devious smile came over her face.  _A little push couldn't hurt too much, though… Maybe it's time they finally do get to talking._

Mira put on her sweet happy smile and turned her sights on Gajeel with it. He glanced over at her in the corner of his eye and then turned to her, with an odd look over his face.  _Why the hell is she smiling at me like that?_  He had seen her smile a lot, in the short amount of time he had been there, but never at him… And so… Sweetly? For some reason that smile made Black Steel Gajeel feel downright uncomfortable, he preferred the dirty looks.

Mira had seen an inkling of the feelings Levy could possibly harbor for the iron dragon slayer, but now, she wanted to see if she could spot any feelings that Gajeel may have had towards the tiny script mage, in return… She needed to get them talking or at least in the same room together.

"You know, Gajeel… The Master may not be here, but there was someone who was looking for you today." Mira spoke to Gajeel in a matter of fact tone. The look on Gajeel's face was that of goofy confusion for a moment and Mira found it oddly cute. The face disappeared though and was replaced with just another smirk, as he stood up straight and folded his arms.

"Yea right, like who?" Was all he replied with, mockingly, almost stating it rather than questioning it, as he closed his eyes.

"They are actually in the library, right now!" Mira exclaimed and pointed across the room, to the guild's library entrance. Gajeel followed her finge,r then looked back at her with a doubtful scowl.

"C'mon! I ain't that stupid! Ya got some ambush in store for me, or somethin'?" Mira wanted to roll her eyes, but she held her smile.  _What's with these dragon slayers and making everything about fighting_?

"Nope it's nothing like that, just go look!" Gajeel just gave her a look that clearly showed that he did not want to.

"Just spare me the goody, goody routine, all right? I know you can't stand me, just like the rest of these morons. I'll fight whoever, whenever, but this surprise stuff is just weak." He finished bluntly.

Mira felt a tiny bit sorry for him, after hearing his words.  _Not everyone hates you… I know someone who doesn't and oddly enough, she has the most right to_ … She thought, but she knew she wasn't getting through his thick skull, so instead she decided to play along.

"I think it was Natsu, actually…" Mira said, bringing a finger up to her lips, as if she were pondering the matter. At that, Gajeel let out his unique laugh and then cracked his knuckles.

"Fine then, if that's how Salamander wants to play it. Like a damn child… Idiot." He mumbled the last part, but he finally marched his way over towards the library with fists clenched. Mira watched him like a hawk, but still smiled innocently as she did so, her thoughts reveling in fantasies.


	15. Bookworm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was always super special to me! I hope you all like it :)

**Iron Gray Chapter 15 Bookworm**

Gajeel marched up to the library doorway visibly irritated, but he stopped right before entering. His large body practically took up the whole space of the doorframe, as he stood there glaring inside of the room full of books and shelves, growling under his breath. He grinded his teeth, as his red eyes darted around and then he took a heavy step inside.

"Where the hell are ya, Salamander?" Gejeel growled to himself, between clenched teeth. His dragon slayer senses began to take over, as he stood in front of the entrance. The most overwhelming smell in the room, was the crisp scent of paper, followed closely by the slick cool scent of ink. Beyond that, there was the fresh scent of wood and paint, that most of the newly built guildhall carried. Especially in the more secluded rooms like this, where not too many of the guild members had ventured in or spent a lot of time in yet. In the more popular rooms, the newness scent of the building was fading, due to the guild members scents masking it with their own.

Gajeel took another step inside, as his nose trained for the familiar scent of the Salamander's flesh and embers, along with the distinct heat of the fire dragon's, magic flames, but it never entered his nose. In fact, it felt as though the Salamander had never once, even stepped foot inside of the small room. Gajeel was slowly realizing that he had been lied to, as his feet carried him a bit further in, but his senses were still running on high gear, as another familiar scent began to fill his nose, distracting him.

His nose was like a time machine, reading the history of that small room in its short time of existence, and there were really only two consistent scents that told a story inside of it. One being that of the barmaid's scent, the very same who had sent him in there. He had grown familiar with the Demon women's smell in the last two days. Her scent was littered over every book and shelf. Clearly meaning, she had been the one to shelve most of the books in there, but he ignored hers.

The second human scent he was noticing, was the one Gajeel had been straining to focus on, as he was even  _more,_  familiar with it. This scent was scattered throughout the room in its entirety and it seemed to gather heavily, in certain corners and on certain books. As though that person had spent a great deal of time in those spots and with those objects. His nose drew it in slowly and he closed his eyes, as memories of his sin tortured him.

The scent was brisk and rosy, as if it the person who wielded it, had no weight to them. Held down by nothing, it was also light like the smell of linen and it reminded him of the color sky blue. It had a certain subtle sweetness to it, that would linger in its aftermath, but was almost missed by the much sharper smell of parchment…  _Levy_.

This was her smell and it was all over that room, telling him stories about her. And he couldn't seem to stop himself from reading them, as he began to step around almost entranced by it, his curiosity getting the better of him. She was one of the only people that had spent time in that room, since it was built. Making it so easy and clear to follow the ghost trails she had left behind, from all of her multiple visits. Gajeel's eyes were almost glazed over as he followed it along the shelves, pausing whenever the scent became stronger. Indicating that she had spent a lot of time reading that particular book.

He was learning about her, without her even being present for it. Part of him felt like maybe he should stop. It almost felt invasive; if it had been anyone else, he would have just chocked it up to instinct. This is just what dragon slayers do, but when it came to her, it felt less instinctual and much more personal instead. Maybe, because of all of the guilt she had caused him and the horrible history they shared between them. Part of him felt like, he had no right be curious, or to learn anything about her.

He had planned on leaving her alone. To stay away and avoid her as much as possible, basically making it forbidden. He had marked her that way in his mind, so that he wouldn't have to think about what he had done, every time he so much as looked at her or caught her scent in his nose. He had done that, so he could move on with his life without constantly being haunted…. But now as Gajeel stood there, enveloped in her revealing scent all around him, he could not seem to bring himself to walk away. In fact, he seem to only get a higher satisfaction, by breaking his own rule of staying away from her. He did enjoy being rebellious, after all.

Gajeel continued to wander through the library, as his nose was on the trail of a really strong strand of the small girl's scent. It had felt fresh and the strength of it, had made him furrow his studded brow, as slowly walked around on the other side of a large middle shelf. The only other time he had sensed her scent with such intensity, had been the night he had attacked her… His red eyes glanced up, as if he could almost see it… But then he froze.  _Shit_.

No wonder her scent had been overpowering him, she was in there… Right in front of him! This was the closest he had physically been to her, since  _that_  night. He felt so stupid, he hadn't even been able to tell she was there, because her scent was already everywhere in the room. It had hidden her from him. He knew he needed to just back up and walk away, but for some reason he couldn't seem to move his feet. He felt like he had been caught committing some kind of crime, but she didn't even see him. She was sleeping.  _I need to get the hell out of here_. Gajeel's thoughts were muttering for him to leave the room before she woke up, before she moved, before anything could happen. He disobeyed them all and instead he just stood there, like a damn idiot.

Levy was sitting in the most obnoxiously big chair his eyes had ever seen. Made even more obnoxious by her incredibly small body, curled up as it was. Her thin legs were nearly covered up by the large book that practically hung in midair by the tips of her small dainty fingertips. His eyes trailed up to her tiny waistline that was being hugged by the orange dress she wore. Her chest lifted lightly, as she exhaled in and out softly and quietly, clearly in a deep sleep. Her delicate shoulders were left bare revealing her glowing alabaster skin, until just above her elbows, where she had on detachable sleeves that flowed down to her wrists.

Gajeel finally glanced up to her face, the one that he had been seeing every damn night in his bad dreams. It was odd to see it with her eyes closed and relaxed, instead of roughed up. He narrowed his eyes on her, taking in every detail of it, from her small button nose to the soft curve of her lips. Her light eyelashes and her thin relaxed eyebrows; the way her wild blue hair framed her face, as untamed strands of it fell down, due to her head being slumped down as it was. His eyes even glazed over her hairline and the bright yellow tie that kept her locks at bay.

Gajeel didn't know what he was hoping to achieve, by looking at her as he did. It felt like he was searching for something, like maybe some kind of scar or scratch that he had left on her face, from that night. There wasn't anything, almost as if it had never even happened… Gajeel could feel a fierce anger build up in him, at the thought and his head snapped to the side, forcing his eyes to rip away from the small girl's face.  _It did happen damn it! You can't change that!_  His thoughts were cursing his brain for trying to pretend like he had never caused her harm.

He could feel regrets swarming him, as he gripped at the shelf beside him with white knuckles. He could see the feet of the armchair in the corner of his eye so he closed his eyes tightly and bit down, as if trying to will himself to not look at her again. His heart was beating fast as he clutched the fabric of his shirt that hung over his chest, tightly.  _Can't forget what I did to her… but_ … He opened his eyes slowly and they were wide. He slowly turned his head back up and looked at her. Part of him wanted to wake her up, so that he could speak to her, but he wasn't going to do that. He didn't want to scare her, as he had seen that she did indeed fear him. Plus, he was no good with words anyways.  _Levy… I'm sorry that I hurt you_.

There. He had finally admitted it to himself. He was sorry about the things he had done while he was in Phantom and he deeply wished he could take it all back. And he was especially sorry about what he had done to her. Surprisingly enough, the world did not end right there, even after he had finally come clean. If anything, he actually felt a little better, even though his chest still hurt.

Gajeel's eyes went back up to her serene and peaceful face. Again, he realized she looked nothing like she had, that night. He hadn't left her with any scars, or ruined her life from what he had gathered through the scents of the library. It made him remember how she had spoken to him, right after he had attacked her… Telling him how Fairy Tail would stop him… Defying him, even after being beaten by him. She was defying him now too, as she slept peacefully with no traces of their encounter… Because each and every night, his dreams were fueled with the memories of it, allowing him to never sleep peacefully again. Well… Until just the other day, after he had blocked that lightning attack from hitting her.

Gajeel stood there now, just watching Levy with a perplexed look. He remembered the thought he had, had the night before. He had sworn to himself to protect her as best as he could and other than that, he would leave her be. They were guild mates now and so that meant, keeping her safe. He let himself be honest for a moment, it would really bother him to see any more harm come to her again.

His eyes traveled down the length of her arm and landed on the huge book that was just hanging there.  _How is it, that damn thing hasn't fallen yet?_ He was kind of glad, because it was large and the sound might wake her. He didn't want that, because one, he was there, and two, he didn't want to disturb her when she looked so, at peace.

He shook his head, as he remembered how he had seen her reading the other day. She had been so quiet and at peace then too, and for some reason it had made him smile, just like he was suddenly smiling now.

 _She is definitely a shrimp_ … He thought as he glanced around the library for a moment and then looked back at her and the huge book.  _And a bookworm too…._  His thoughts spoke. His smile widened a bit, revealing his fangs and for some reason he felt like laughing at her, but he stayed quiet just in case.

His eyes were following the slight movement of her breathing, her rhythm easing him, as his body became very relaxed while standing there.  _I need to go_ … His thoughts reminded him once again, but his feet wouldn't budge as he remained in the calm state staring at her. It was as if the sleeping girl fascinated him, but then a scowl appeared on his face.

He closed his eyes and let out a breath. He brought a hand to his forehead and ran it through his hair.  _What the hell is wrong with me?_  His hand was now on the back of his neck rubbing it awkwardly, as he scowled. He needed to just walk away. He knew that, but then why didn't he?  _Why can't I_ \- But his thoughts were cut off by some loud voices saying the sleeping girl's name in the guildhall.

Gajeel immediately tensed up, his calm state quickly disappearing as his head snapped up in the direction of the doorway, listening.  _The dogs are here_ … He glanced back down at Levy,  _and they're lookin' fer her_.

Mira's head had also snapped up at the sound of Levy's name and she realized she needed to get out of there. There, being the library as well… She had been standing on the other side of large middle bookshelf spying on Gajeel through it, between two books.

After Gajeel had walked away from the bar she had waited a few minutes, before following him in. When she did approach the entrance of the library he was already inside and he had appeared very distracted. Making it easy for her to watch him from just behind the doorway, without him noticing. He had been stalking around oddly, with his chin lifted up slightly, almost stumbling on his own two feet. It had looked like he was drunkenly pacing the room, because he had kept walking back and forth to the bookshelf and his eyes had looked dazed.

It had made Mira giggle quietly to herself, to watch him behave like that and a small part of her found it oddly cute too. She actually knew exactly what he was doing, from watching Natsu; tracking scents. Mira was clever enough to realize he wouldn't smell her, because of her own scent, already being all over the room, so she was hidden from his nose, amongst her own smell. Being a transformation mage had its perks, tracking scents being among them. Mira was pretty sure hers, wasn't the one Gajeel was following anyways. He was pretty clumsy as he stalked around back and forth on the one side of the library; part of her had wondered how Levy didn't hear him.  _She must be so invested in whatever she's reading,_  is what Mira had thought.

Finally, Gajeel had started to go around the large middle shelf, that split the library and Mira took the opportunity once he was on the other side, to make her move. That was when she had found her new spot, where she could see them through the shelf. Mira was surprised to find that Levy had actually been sleeping,  _no wonder…_  That was when the odd staring and facial expressions began and Mira had tried her best to read every move Gajeel made.

It may have actually been creepy, if Mira didn't find the whole situation to be strangely adorable. Her head was swelling with romance at this point. She couldn't help, but to laugh evilly inside.  _Fairy Tail's new, big and bad, iron dragon slayer, may just have a crush_ … That was when Mira had heard the voices calling for Levy, Jet and Droy's voices.

She would have snapped her fingers with disappointment, if Gajeel hadn't been standing so close. She realized he had heard them too, as he looked up at the doorway. She watched him carefully, as soon as he looked back at Levy, she bounded out of that room as quietly and hastily as she could. Before he even knew she had ever been in there.

Gajeel wore an oddly uneasy facial expression, as he looked to the doorway again, where he could still hear voices. He most definitely did not want to be caught hovering over Levy as she slept for many reasons, details unimportant.  _Time to bail_. He thought as his red eyes darted around. He began to step, but he paused for a minute to turn and look at Levy one last time, over his shoulder. His eyes graced over every feature of her quickly as if trying to soak it all in one last time, as if he wanted to remember it. For some reason it felt like there was something lodged in his throat and his stomach clenched uncomfortably. He ignored all of this though,  _sleep well, shrimp_ …

He turned away from her and probably would have face palmed at his own sappy weird thoughts, if he had, had the time to dwell on them. He made his way out quickly, while still trying to look nonchalant as well. Didn't really seem to matter though, because as soon as he stepped foot out of the small library, he was instantly made the target of harassment, by one cocky fire dragon slayer.


End file.
